Of The Stars
by Immatrael
Summary: In the aeons before distant memory, an empire of myth and legend fell. But what has fallen can rise anew. The weight of ages falls on the shoulders of Usagi Tsukino. And her task will not be an easy one.
1. Prologue: Of Ages Past

**Prologue - Of Ages Past**

'In ancient times, ten thousand years and more before the now, the world was not as it is today. Before the threads of heaven were woven into a girdle around the world, before traitors tore them down, before the celestial spheres long since broken by betrayal were even glimmers in the eyes of dreaming visionaries – in that dreaming age, Earth was a very different place.

'Magic was everywhere, in the long ago. It ran wild and free in rivers around the globe, criss-crossing the continents in unseen lines of mystical power. And where those lines met, places of wonder and impossibility formed. These were the sacred places of youthful humanity, where colours danced and sang in the night sky, where gentle plants blossomed and wondrous beasts roamed free. The spirit of nature itself mingled freely with mortal men, and things both wondrous and terrible were born of their union.

'The golden nations of this time will be forgotten by the men of the Age of Iron who follow them. Who now sings of the verdant vales of misty Vah, and remembers the witch-women who lived in the wild places, outside their stone-canopied cities? Unconquered Uren is fallen, consumed in fire, and masterless Matask died in ice. They were the ones who first discovered the arts of writing, of magic, of farming and herding and taming the beasts of the world. They raised the first towers so that they might be strong, and gave thanks in the first shrines to the world and the light. When shadows fell upon their hearts – as it did upon the folk of Nahelai, stripped of thought and shadow alike by dark powers – why, in time righteousness always prevailed.

'And in this world, in a land of ice and snow where it was an eternal struggle merely to survive, there was a queen of a hard-pressed people. They lacked the verdant lands of Vah, the rich mines of Matask, and lived humbly at the very edge of the world, where sea met sky. But the queen of these hardy folk – blue-eyed, silver-haired despite her youth – carried an air of destiny about her shoulders. She was but a girl when she took the throne, and yet her bright-hearted wisdom had her acclaimed by all. Only those seduced by darker powers dared contest her compassion.

'But the human soul is limited, and the silver queen wept as she realised she had not the power to care for all creation. Her tears touched the hearts of her subjects, and they responded. "Take our dreams," they said, "and our hopes, and our love. For you are the queen who has guarded us and guided us, and now we wish to aid you." And the queen was grateful, and swore to see their hopes and dreams safeguarded. As they slept, their dreams were turned towards her, and their thoughts and faith empowered her, lifting her up to such heights as none had held before.

'Enlightened by the trust and faith of her people, the silver queen's land prospered under her guidance, and the borders of her kingdom expanded as she welcomed others into her sisterly care. One by one, she hunted down the terrible monsters that roamed the icy wastes of her land, and led her people to call upon the magic that ran deep beneath the surface, drawing it up from where it pooled to dot the silver plains with lush enclaves where life was easy.

'And eventually she looked to the heavens, and took her kingdom up to the moon that hung in the skies above. There, she built a paradise of silver and crystal, which the conflicts of the world could not touch, and where all who were pure at heart were welcome.

'And she took the name Serenity, for – as she said – she was a bringer of peace.'

* * *

…

* * *

A silver fingernail traces across the writing on the ancient page, written in many different hands and much-edited, with many fragments crossed out and an entire section added in a slightly different style. Silky locks of hair brush against the crackling parchment as their owner bends to read the faded text. Then the dark-skinned woman straightens, flicking her night-black hair back, and crosses to gently place the book back on its shelf.

The room is large and open – larger than perhaps is necessary, for one could fit forty people across the breadth of this space, and it is longer than it is wide. But then again, perhaps not. Whoever built it clearly meant to create a sense of grandeur. Rich, faded decorations and lavish carvings adorn the cupboards and shelves along the walls, and the ceiling is adorned with a vast mural of a starry sky lit by a full moon. The floor, made of a milky stone, has paths worn into it by the passage of countless footsteps. A desk carved of some ancient wood – polished by long use – stands opposite the door, in front of a clear crystal pane that takes up the entire far wall. The view is almost unbelievable, a landscape of glittering ice and sparkling silver plains seen from miles above the ground. But she is used to the view, and it barely registers after so much time. She pays it no mind, lost in her own thoughts.

'Was that how it happened?' she asks herself softly. 'I cannot be sure. Ten thousand years and more have washed away the facts, and left only feelings in place of memories. This book _feels_ true, but I have read it a thousand times, and I know it cannot be right in every detail.' She purses her lips reflectively, glancing out of the crystal window that made up one of the walls of her vast and roomy office. 'Though those events predate even me...' she adds, and sighs wearily. She seems very old as she does, though her face is youthful. Only her eyes, clear crimson, betray the weight of years if one looks carefully.

'Well,' she sighs again, after a long moment's thought. "Time and past to begin my search anew. I have yet to find those I seek. And word from Earth worries me. More so than usual.' Her lips quirk wryly. 'Promises to keep, promises to keep,' she murmurs with a hint of sardonic amusement, and stands to go. A flick of her wrist opens the door to one of the richly decorated cabinets, behind which hangs a vertical pane of water, mirror-like in its stillness. The woman's ebony skin turns a lustrous black for a second as she collapses down on herself into a smaller shape. The water ripples briefly as the nimble form darts through it, and the office is left empty once again.

Now let the eye pull back from the empty office. Let it pass through the crystal window even as the cabinet door swings closed, and see the wall outside – some unknown stone that is harder than marble, more lustrous than pearl. It is decorated with fine carvings that tell a saga that spans thousands of years, which seem to sing even as they are viewed. The gaze is drawn downwards, and the height of the tower is revealed in truth – for it is no mere tower. The spire stands miles high, staring down upon mountains, narrowing as it rises like a needle piercing the fabric of the sky. This lofty office is on the highest floor, with nothing above save open sky and the shifting silver-white dome of the heavens.

Now look again, not downwards this time but out. Like a bird taking flight from its window-ledge perch, let the view move out across the ice plains, slowly at first but fast picking up speed, across argent arctic fields of snow arranged just so for their aesthetic beauty. They are dotted here and there with patches of verdant green in lush reserves, steam rising from rich rainforest to condense on the inside of the crystal domes that contain them. Movement can be seen within them, but they pass behind and fade into the distance too quickly to make out what prowls within.

Far up ahead, a shape moves. It is an enormous fortress-city, a day's hard walk from side to side of the soaring citadel walls that surround it. A vicious blizzard beats against stone and ice, gale-driven snowflakes freezing on the glacier that buries half the city. The enormous edifice drifts across the land, a stone ship sailing upon a frozen sea. But rather than parting before it, the spurs and sheets of ice vanish into the oncoming wall as if merely passing through a curtain of mist, and appear again from the other side once it passes over them completely.

But enough time spent here. Fly onward, faster and faster, as rainbow light glimmers overhead in arcing paths that pass between the rippling veils of colour that drift across the sky. The weather shifts unpredictably as the miles fall behind – where a blizzard howled mere moments ago over the travelling conurbation-citadel, it is now bright and warm. Shifting beams from the heavens play in rippling patterns over the ice fields, their illumination hinting at half-hidden shadows buried deep beneath the surface. In some areas the whiteness melts, flowing away to leave slick featureless plains under the areas of unnatural heat.

Soon, the wide and open lowlands give way to the foothills of the mountains. Slow, as they approach, and see another city, nestled between the horns of a crescent of mountains. This metropolis is darker, though unfrozen, with a chill wind whipping at its streets. Unlike its sister-stronghold, it is stationary, scarred savagely in ages past by some fearsome force that carved a bloody path of destruction across it. A blackened rift still wounds the ring-wall, and the streets are empty and all but deserted.

Yet even this is left behind as the gaze moves ever onward, up and over the mountains. The snow gives way to bare rock at their uttermost heights, and cairns have been raised there on the high peaks, inscribed with symbols both new and ancient. A group of figures gather around one even now, ant-like in the distance as the mind's eye flashes past them. They dance, slow and solemn, around the graven monolith they visit, in a ritual of both remembrance and regret.

The peaks fall away in their turn, and the eye skims across snow once more. The layer of ice is thinner now, though still a formidable slab, with deep, dark water beneath the hoary crust instead of land. To one side, the light dims and darkens until nothing but blackness can be seen, a moving void of light which veils things unseen in many years. And ahead is the edge, rushing ever closer. For no sea borders this land, no ocean touches its shore. The dome that rises from the coast to stretch across the sky is a shimmering, shifting wall. Uncounted trillions of tiny fluttering, flickering silvery-white shapes make it up – are they butterflies? Ribbons? Petals? Snowflakes? Stars? It is impossible to say, so chaotic and random is their swirling and spinning. For all that can be seen through the eddying curtains, they might as well go on forever – nothing is visible beyond.

But plunge into the ever-changing barrier nonetheless. Let the currents carry the eye forward through secret paths and hidden tributaries, across many years and a shadow's width of distance. Eventually, the whirling silver shapes dissolve into foam and froth before giving way entirely; to a bright sunlit sky and a warm refreshing breeze, above a vibrant and bustling city.

And perhaps more importantly, to the beginning of a story.

* * *

…


	2. 1: An Amazing Coincidence!

**Arc One - An Auspicious Beginning**

**Chapter One - An Amazing Coincidence! Usagi Escapes a Terrible Fate!**

In every young woman's life, there comes a time when she must face adversity. When she must bravely rise against the forces that seek to drag her down into corruption and depravity and make a stand. When she must gather all of her will and virtue, and hold fast to the ideals of charity, patience, wisdom, kindness, resolve and honesty.

Such were the thoughts of Usagi Tsukino, 16-year old resident of Juuban Municipal High School, on a sunny summer afternoon as she walked home from school. For that time was now upon her, and the final pair of these moral principles were proving somewhat difficult to live up to. The source of her dilemma lurked in her satchel; a malevolent paper fiend waiting with cruel anticipation for a chance to bring down fire and calamity on her head.

In retrospect, she should _probably _have studied a bit harder for that English test. She might have just barely gotten away with only a disapproving glare had she managed half marks on it. But a 30...

"Ahhh..." she moaned quietly to herself as she trudged down the pavement. "Mum is going to _kill _me when she sees this mark..."

'... going to _kill _you if you keep...'

Usagi squeaked in fright and spun around, looking for the source of the sudden voice. It was faint, and seemed to be coming from some distance away. It also sounded annoyed. Very annoyed indeed. Usagi actually blushed slightly at some of the language it was using. She didn't understand most of it, but it sounded... bad.

But despite the language the voice was using, it sounded scared and panicky, in need of help. Closing her eyes and turning in a slow circle to pinpoint the direction it was coming from, Usagi dashed towards it, the certain doom waiting for her at home temporarily forgotten.

'... furthermore, you brats are _not _funny, okay? Now go... hey! Oh no you _don't_, put me _down _you little dolts, or I'll... whoa, what's that? What are you... oh no, get... argh! Hey! Stop that! Get it away from..."

The voice cut off abruptly, and Usagi's eyes widened. Putting on an extra turn of speed, she skidded round the last corner separating her from the commotion, a shout of condemnation on her lips.

"Hey!"

She found herself in a small parking lot, mostly empty of cars at this time of day. There was no sign of whoever had been shouting, only a group of kids across the lot from her, clustered around something in between them. Usagi looked around, frowning as the phone in her pocket chimed. The girl ignored the noise. She had been _sure _that the voice had come from this direction.

"Mreow! Mreaa, mreeoooow!"

The yowling cries of an angry cat erupted from the centre of the group of kids, and Usagi forgot her puzzlement as a new injustice presented itself. "Hey!" she yelled again, this time more forcefully. "You brats! What are you doing? Stop it!"

The children – they couldn't have been more than five or six – looked up, took one look at her annoyed expression, and ran for it. Usagi stalked over to the little black form they had been crowded around, and squatted down next to it.

"Hello kitty," she said, stroking it. It uncurled tentatively and looked up at her with startlingly red eyes. Usagi sucked in a surprised breath at the colour – cats didn't normally have red eyes, did they? – then frowned. There was a sticker plastered over the cat's forehead, and its coat was all muddy. "Poor thing," she said sympathetically. "Don't worry, I'll help you! Even if you weren't who I was looking for. Say... did you happen to hear someone yelling just now? Then suddenly go quiet?"

"... reoow?" The cat looked up at her curiously, then hissed and batted her hands away, drawing a couple of thin lines of blood where its claws caught the side of her hand. Usagi yelped, and quickly drew back as the animal started pawing at its forehead, trying to dislodge the sticker.

"Hey, hey," she said as softly as she could manage. She reached forward again, trying to avoid the frantic movements of the claws and get a grip on the sticker. "Here now, just... ow! Just stay still, and let me... there we go!"

With the writhing animal in a firm grip, she gently thumbed the edge of the sticker up, and pulled it off slowly and carefully, revealing a strange pale marking on its head, like a bald spot in the shape of an upturned crescent. The cat went limp for a second as she did so, blinking at her in dull surprise.

"See?" Usagi said cheerfully. "Isn't that be- ahhh!" She was cut off as the cat renewed its struggles to get loose, becoming a writhing ball of fur and claws and fangs. It managed to find a fleeting purchase on her sleeve, ripped its way free from her grasp and leapt, ricocheting off her head to land on one of the few cars still in the lot.

Usagi yelped, and her eyes glazed over for a second as she swayed dizzily and waited for the world to stop spinning round and round. When everything settled back down to normal, she found the cat still standing there, head tilted slightly to one side, staring at her intently.

"... uh..." she said. "... hi, kitty? Um... you're welcome?" She smiled, hoping against hope that the animal wouldn't decide to try clawing her again. But it had clearly been mistreated by those brats, and she wouldn't be surprised if it didn't like anyone human-shaped at this point.

The eerie stare continued.

"Well then..." Usagi laughed, a trifle nervously, "if you're okay, I'll just... get going, then..." She took a few paces back. The cat advanced forward by the same amount, leaping down to the ground and looking up at her. The clear crimson eyes narrowed, and the little animal made a quiet noise that was half purr, half hiss.

Usagi's freaky-weird-stuff limit had been reached. "Well! I'll be going then!" she announced, and spun around. If it kept following her, she reasoned, then at the very least she wouldn't _see _it following her.

... which sounded a lot less encouraging when she put it that way, but she could probably outpace a cat if she had to. Not that she was going to run away from it. Marching smartly back towards the parking lot's entrance, she blinked as she noticed the figure leaning on the wall next to it for the first time.

Naru Osaka raised an eyebrow at her, clearly struggling to hold back a grin. "Hey, Usagi-chan," she said. "Any reason you're talking to a cat?"

Usagi grinned sheepishly, hooking an arm through her best friend's and dragging her along. "Hush up, you," she ordered cheerfully, "and tell me if it's still following us."

Naru rolled her eyes. "It darted into the bushes as soon as it saw me," she reassured Usagi. "Don't worry, it's gone now. And I won't ask why you were having a Mexican standoff with a housecat, either, or why you didn't answer my text. Because there's something more important going on! Our store is having a jewellery sale! Want to come?"

"Really? A sale?" Usagi gasped, eyes widening. Naru's mother ran a high-class jewellery store that carried some of the best pieces in the city, enough that Naru always got an obscene (from Usagi's point of view) amount of pocket money. The redhead had been given a few necklaces or earrings on past birthdays as well, and they were always gorgeous. Usually, everything the store sold was way, way outside Usagi's price range. But with a sale, she might actually be able to buy something for herself! And even if she couldn't, she could still look, right?

"Awesome!" she squealed excitedly. "Of course I'll come! Ooo, I should get some rings! No, a cute bracelet! Or a locket!"

A dark shadow slipped back out of the undergrowth as the two girls departed, chattering enthusiastically with the occasional squeal or giggle. Silent and sure, wary of any attention, it slipped onto the pavement in pursuit. Watching intently, in careful feline calculation.

* * *

...

* * *

The store that Naru's mother ran was a multi-floor building on a street corner in town, with bright walls and sparkling windows offering tasteful displays to pedestrians passing by. The news about the sale seemed to have spread, because by the time they got there, it was packed. No, it was _thronged _with people, rushing from counter to counter, elbowing each other out of the way and eagerly snatching for the best offers. And checking out the merchandise, Usagi could see why.

"Ooohhh!" she cooed, scrutinising a delicate filigree necklace of silver links and lustrous pearls. "Naru-chan, look at this! It's beautiful!" Naru glanced over from her own perusal of the display case and whistled.

"Beautiful, yeah," she agreed. "But look at that price tag." She pointed to the label just under the stand, on which was marked the price.

Usagi looked, and winced. "300,000 yen? I can't afford that!" she complained. "Aww... but it's so pretty! Why does it have to be so expensive?"

"It's because of the white diamonds in the lattice," a new voice explained. Yelping, Usagi spun around to find a young woman in a store uniform, with her black hair tied up in a ponytail. "But for you, I can lower the price to just 15,000 yen!"

Usagi gaped. So did Naru. "300,000 yen to 15,000?" she exclaimed. "That much? Oh, yes! Usagi-chan, this is Saya-chan, she's one of the store assistants! Mum's out of town at the moment, so she's in charge of the store. Saya-chan, this is my friend Usagi-chan!"

"Ahh?" the woman said. "Very nice to meet you, Usagi-chan! I think that would really suit you, if you wanted it!"

Usagi was torn. On the one hand, it _was _ gorgeous. On the other hand, even with the discount, it would cost her five months' worth of her pocket money. And her birthday was past, so she couldn't get it that way.

The point was rendered moot, as Saya had spoken a little too loudly. A squeal of eager greed rang out, and Usagi was elbowed out of the way by a gaggle of middle-aged women and schoolgirls who surrounded the counter in a frenzy of bidding and jockeying for position. Struggling to breathe and wincing at the pain from her smarting ribs, Usagi squeezed out of the mob into the comparatively open space of the shop floor. Naru emerged beside her, looking somewhat frazzled, and cast a glance back to where Saya was enthusiastically encouraging the clamour and chaos.

"Well," she said. "She's certainly having fun. Though I'm surprised Mum authorised this. I guess maybe she's trying something different? Did she? Maybe I should call her... no, she'll be busy and I don't want to put her in a bad mood. I mean, she might get me a present. But still, this is..." she looked around the store, taking in the bustling crowds, "... well, it's certainly bringing people in." Her tone of voice suggested that she did not think this was entirely a good thing.

Usagi shrugged, equally mystified. Her attention was only half there, as she was checking her funds. Or rather, her lack of them. A thorough search of all her pockets and the deepest recesses of her satchel turned up twenty-four yen, three sweets, a hairtie, a pretty stone she'd found a few days ago which had turned out not to be lucky, her somewhat battered mobile phone and housekeys, and the Test of Doom. And that last one more or less nuked her chances of getting an advance on the next five months of pocket money.

"Sorry Naru-chan," she sighed regretfully. "I'm broke. And this place is really crowded, so I'm gonna go off home, okay? See you tomorrow."

"Sure. See you!" Naru replied, turning back to the store. Though not before throwing one last parting shot over her shoulder. "As long as your mum and dad don't kill you over that test score!"

Muttering under her breath and pouting sulkily, Usagi left the store. No sooner had she walked out of the door, however, when she collided with something tall, broad and hard.

"Ow!" she complained, then realised that what she had walked into was in fact someone's chest. "Oh! Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Usagi tailed off as she looked up, and scowled as she recognised who she was apologising to. It was _Him_.

She didn't actually know his name; they had never got as far as introductions. All she knew about the young man was that he seemed to be a local university student, and had been the bane of her existence for the past few months. It was bad enough that he was snarky, insulting, rude and mean whenever they met, taking every opportunity to snipe at her just as she did him...

... but why did he have to be so damn _hot? _It was a crime against Love and Justice for such a hunk to be such a jerk! Tall, dark and handsome, with intense eyes and dark, dishevelled hair that all but cried out to have fingers threaded through it... he was the kind of guy most girls _dreamed _of meeting! At least until he opened his mouth and came out with some sort of...

"Oi, meatball-head! Are you blind as well as clumsy? Look where you're going!"

... insult. Usagi glared at him. "Well excuse me for stumbling!" she fired back irritably. "There must not have been enough room on the pavement for me and your _ego _to both fit!"

He sniffed dismissively, and glanced at the shop she had come out of, and then back to her. A single eyebrow rose, taunting. "Buying pretty jewellery for yourself?" he asked, smirking. "You know, however many bracelets and necklaces you put on, they're not going to help any more than makeup will. I'd just save the money, if I were you."

Oh, he had _not _just implied what Usagi thought he had just implied. She turned the glare up a few notches, flushing red in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "Well... well... what are _you _doing heading in there, then?" she fumed. "Are you between girlfriends at the moment? I guess plying a girl with expensive gifts _would _be the only way you could get a date."

"Well, at least I have that resort. How are _you _doing on the dating front?" The question caught Usagi off guard, and she gaped in surprise for a second, blushing genuinely at the unexpected intimacy of the question. Was he...?

The jerk raised an eyebrow. "Well? Found anyone with an interest in those greasy meatballs you call hair?"

If looks could kill, he would have had to be scraped off the storefronts on the other side of the street. "You... i-it's none of your business! Jerk!" Sticking her tongue out at him and spinning on her heel, she marched off down the street towards home, muttering colourful indictments with every irritated step.

Her irritation had mostly burnt itself out by the time she arrived home, with the cold ashes of dread replacing them. Maybe... maybe if she told her dad first? Or better yet, didn't tell them at all? No, no, that would be lying. She'd just... forget to tell them, for a week or so. Until she'd got a better mark to offset it. Yeah, that would work.

The TV was audible as a low drone as she entered the house, and she caught a bit of it as she passed the living room. A news channel, from the sound of it.

_"... returning again to the bombing at the Shinten Electronics factory in Osaka, we have eye-witness reports that confirm that the masked vigilante Sailor V was present. According to official sources, the criminal group known as Five has claimed responsibility for the attack, and sworn to defeat Sailor V for her meddling. Police continue to pursue both anonymous groups, and police chief..."_

That meant that she wouldn't be seeing her dad until suppertime. First obstacle, cleared! Now all she had to do was get past...

"Usagi! There you are!" Ikuko Tsukino leaned out of the kitchen, blue hair falling in gentle waves behind her. Dusting off her hands, she stepped out into the corridor to look her errant daughter up and down. "I was starting to wonder if you'd managed to get lost somehow."

... her mother. Usagi froze, cold sweat beading on her forehead. "Ah ha ha... yes, sorry about that!" she replied hastily. "Naru-chan's mother has a sale at her jewellery store. But everything's still too high-priced for me, so I came back here straight after. Anyway, I'll be off up to my room now, so..."

"Oh, that reminds me, I ran into Umino-kun as he was coming back! He said there was a test today. He got very good marks on it." Ikuko smiled brightly and cheerfully, extending a hand. "So, Usagi? What did you get? Let me see?"

"..." With extreme reluctance, Usagi slid the test paper out of her satchel and handed it over. Ikuko had to tug quite hard to get it out of her grip, and raised an eyebrow at her before looking down to see how she had done.

An ominous silence ensued. And was broken by menacing tones of maternal ire.

"Usagi..."

"Waaah! I did my best, don't hurt me!"

Ikuko was having none of it. "What kind of mark is this?" she growled. "Thirty percent? You told me you were doing well in your English classes!"

Usagi waved her hands frantically, denying she had done any such thing. "It was a fluke! The stars were aligned wrong! I'll do better on the next one, I promise!"

The anger seemed to drain out of the older woman as she sighed. "So you keep saying... I worry about you, Usagi. At this rate, you're going to have real trouble getting into a good university."

Great. Now Usagi felt like a total heel, as well as terrified for her life. She wasn't fooled by the concerned tones, and was well aware that her mother's temper could flare up again at any moment, given cause.

"I'm sorry, mama," she said, truthfully. She _did _hate disappointing her parents. It was just that studying was _hard_. As were tests. And homework. And school in general. She could generally get through it when she could bring herself to concentrate on it for more than five minutes at a time, but more often than not she'd get distracted by something before she'd even finished working on the first question.

"I really will try harder next time," she promised hanging her head. "I know you just want what's best for me. And that you're right."

"Alright. Go on up to your room, then," sighed Ikuko, turning back to the kitchen. "Oh," she threw back over her shoulder, "and you're grounded for a week."

"What?" Usagi shrieked, shame and guilt gone as she spun around in protest. "That's not fair! You can't do that!"

"Ha ha!" laughed Shingo from the top of the stairs. "Dumbo Usagi! Mum, you should ground her until she brings her next test home, and not unground her till she gets a better mark!"

"Shut up, runt!" yelled Usagi, turning a death glare on her little brother and shaking a fist at him. Catching her expression, Shingo yelped in fright and dashed into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

"Hmm... he has a good point, though," mused Ikuko. "Alright then, you're grounded until your next test comes back, and then we'll decide. Alright?"

"But..."

"No arguing." For a moment, Usagi heard the hollow tones of the apocalypse in Ikuko's voice, a certain promise of death, doom and damnation. Sensing that her life was in imminent peril, her body took over from her brain and she nodded frantically.

"Okay sure that sounds fair I have to go study now so I hope you've had a good day but bye!" she babbled, and raced upstairs as fast as her legs could carry her. Only when she was in her room, leaning against the door and breathing hard, did her body hand conscious control back over to her brain along with a dirty look and a stern warning not to put it in danger like that again.

"... great," she muttered. Grounded, with no phone calls allowed, and she'd promised to study. Trudging over to her desk, she slumped into the chair and tugged her English book out of her satchel. Flipping it open to roughly the right page, she stared at the incomprehensible gibberish and willed it to make sense.

The afternoon dragged out slowly, broken only by supper and a brief diversion on the way back up from the kitchen to chase Shingo into his room again and yell threats of brutal vengeance through the door. Besides that, though, there was just Usagi and the monstrous spectre of schoolwork. By the time the evening came, she was thoroughly wiped out, and slumped onto her bed with a put-upon sigh. Sleep came quickly, and brought with it...

... dreams.

* * *

...

* * *

_Figures danced in a vast hall, swirling and blending together in veils of colour. Couples waltzed on the wide, mosaic-tiled floor, steps tracing out intricate patterns. Others twirled on crystalline discs that spun lazily through the air, drifting from barely above head height to almost as high as the distant, vaulted ceiling. Music filled the air, a slow, heart-tugging melody. Its simplicity concealed layers upon layers of subtle complexities, swelling and surging like the tides. And carried upon it were sweet, foam-soft songs, caressing every person there as if sung for them alone._

_Music was not the only thing in the air. Hundreds of birds of silver light soared and circled above her. Their softly glowing feathers illuminated the room with a cool, gentle glow. Further above them still, through the crystal panes set into the high ceiling, the shining blue-green planet in the velvet-black heavens added its own faint light to the room, drawing approving glances from those that danced below._

_She stepped forward lightly from the base of the grand staircase she stood on, and took the offered hand of a pale woman with greyish-black eyes, whose chalk-white skin was dusted with paler grey markings. The woman smiled to her and said something, though the words themselves floated away on the swelling chords of the music. Together, they stepped lightly onto the floor, the woman's grey-silver robes swirling gracefully while her own white dress shimmered as the thousands of tiny gemstones woven into it caught the light._

_The music shifted, speeding up ever-so-slightly into a new tempo. Sliding away from the pale woman, she took the hand of a handsome young knight clad in ceremonial armour, who bowed low to her and kissed her fingers. Fingertips touching, they began to mimic the quick, graceful steps that other couples were using, turning and spinning across the floor. Their movements took them away from the stairs, towards the far wall. There, floating panes of clear water hung in the air, rippling every few moments as richly-attired courtiers emerged out of them, bone dry, to join the festivities._

_The music faltered, and a murmur ran through the crowd. Slowly, the gently spinning couples and loosely clustered groups began to shift, drifting out away from the centre of the floor and forming a wide circle. Abandoning her partner, she moved forward curiously, slipping closer to see what the source of the commotion was. Finally reaching the edge of the open space that had been cleared, she felt herself gasp._

_Two men faced one another at the centre of the wide ring, clad in richly decorated armour of lacquered black and shining steel. They had each cast aside their cloaks, and wielded long, gleaming blades with the ease of long practice. The taller of the two - dark-skinned and dark-haired - had his back to her, but his opponent was a young, handsome man with blonde hair and a determined expression. Slowly they circled; their eyes intent and watchful for any openings in their opponent's guard._

_Abruptly, as if on some invisible signal, they struck. The younger man lunged forward, extended arm wreathed in a serpent of scarlet light. His dark-haired opponent flicked his blade out and a radiant eagle of gold flashed into life, seizing the snake in its claws. A clash of steel rang out, and the serpent faded to reveal the young blond skidding back. He shook out his arm and saluted his opponent with his blade, who returned the gesture in kind. Polite applause ran around the ring of spectators, and she felt her heart leap with pride and warmth, directed towards the taller knight._

_The younger man was not so easily beaten, though. He darted forward again, aura resolidifying around him to outline the hulking form of a big cat with a barrel chest and sparking scarlet fangs. It reared up to lash out with a paw in concert with his slash, opening powerful jaws to bite and snap at its foe. But the eagle dissolved even as he did so, scattering in every direction as a cloud of silver-white butterflies. Like a leaf on the wind, the taller man slid away from the blows as if they were the childish strikes of an untrained child._

_Scowling now, the blond's aura changed again, into a hawk. With a piercing battle cry, it swooped forward with him, aiming for the very heart of the swarm of butterflies. This attack was far more intense than those before, a blindingly fast rush outlined in scarlet fire. The same scarlet burned along the outstretched wings of the hawk, and the butterflies they struck vanished in tiny plumes of flame. If this totem swept through the swarm, it would incinerate everything it touched, consuming the silver-white kaleidoscope in a ravenous bonfire. She felt as though a cold hand had seized her by the throat, and a gasp of fear escaped her._

_But butterflies became a falconer's hood, and blades clashed as white light blinded and bound the bird. It squirmed free, shifting to become a regal symbol of authority, calling the servant to hand. But that too was countered, as many stood against one, forcing obedience. The clash of blades and the flares of light were almost too fast to track now, as the two men waged a dual duel of metaphor and martial arts. Rams were tamed, herders driven off by horsemen, horsemen cut down by infantry who fell ill until healing came – yet all this was just half the contest of skills. And it was on the martial field that the blond slipped up. Too slow to leap away from a rising foot, he took the blow to his knee, and collapsed._

_Her heart soared, and she sought to drown out the applause of others with her own._

_The fallen man was not quite done for, though. Rising shakily onto his feet, he gathered himself again and called forth his aura once more. This time, though, he did not shape it into a totem. Instead, he compressed it down, forming a roiling ball of dark gold and bloody scarlet hues. Glaring defiantly up at his advancing opponent, he hurled it. As it flew, it grew in size until it was taller than a man, a molten ball of power that left scorch marks on the polished floor as it sped towards its target._

_The dark-skinned man folded his arms, and waited. Fear consumed her, a sickly pang of dread coiling in her belly and stopping her breath._

_The attack struck, and the explosion of light and force made the onlookers flinch backwards reflexively. For a moment, a rising smoke cloud obscured the point where the man had been standing. But even as a shocked and horrified gasp went up from around the ring, the smoke was blown violently away from within._

_Standing unharmed at the centre was the dark-haired victor, a light-wreathed mandala shining behind him. A ____many-coloured core of opal _shone at its centre, illuminating the stone strata of the halo itself. Prismatic layers overlaid the rock, shifting and turning around the ornate ring like the movement of tides and continents. Backed by the transcendent manifestation of his power, he looked regal, magnificent. Her emotions were a turbulent mess of relief and desire as he strode over to his opponent, the sword swinging out to tickle the beaten man's throat. The blond chuckled and said something, but over the noise of the crowd she could hear neither him nor the victor. She felt pulled towards the champion, wanting him, yearning to be back in his arms...

_"Stop daydreaming, gal," a harsh voice croaked. A gnarled hand grabbed her by the shoulder, fingers digging in hard enough to bruise, and yanked her round to face..._

_... a woman._

_She was ancient, with dark, wrinkled skin so old and weathered it looked like stone. Her hair was bone-white, bound tightly into dreadlocks that were adorned with brass and silver charms and amulets, and she wore opulent robes of scarlet and black. But most shocking of all was her face. A terrible scar ran down from her left temple, slanting down parallel to her cheekbone and splitting her eyebrow in two. The eye in that socket was a thing of liquid brass, with a glinting black pupil that looked hard and polished. It burned into her as fiercely as its dark brown partner as the crone scowled at her in disapproval._

_"Much as you are clearly enjoying the duel, sweet princess, I fear I must interrupt," she said, in a tone that did not sound at all apologetic. Her grip shifted from shoulder to wrist, tight enough that there was no way of escaping from it. "Which is to say, you are coming with me, and we are going to have a talk. In preparation for the talk I will be having with your father, and the talk he and your mother will be having with you. Your behaviour recently has been disgraceful, and entirely out of keeping with the standards expected of you."_

_A sharp tug on wrist pulled her closer, and that glinting brass-obsidian eye narrowed at her as the woman hissed in a menacing voice too low to be heard over the cheers and applause of the crowd. "And don't think I don't know you were listening in on your mother and me talking earlier. We'll be discussing _that_, as well."_

* * *

...

* * *

Usagi woke with a strangled gasp of terror, flinching back from the lingering spectre of that ancient woman. She lay on her side weakly, staring at the door with wide, frightened eyes as her breathing slowed down and her heartbeat returned to normal. That dream... what had that _been? _That woman... and the man, before her, they'd seemed so _familiar_... and yet a thousand miles away at the same time.

A faint noise came from behind her, and a gust of cool night air wound its way into the room. Usagi glanced back absently, her mind still half dream-snarled. The window was hanging open – the source of the cold air. When had that happened? She was sure she had shut it properly this morning. It must have swung open sometime during the night. She grumbled quietly, unwilling to leave the soft, warm haven of the covers to close it.

"Stupid windows..."

Well, it was July. A bit of fresh air wouldn't kill her. Her eyes slid shut again, and she wriggled comfortably in her cocoon of blankets as she drifted off towards sleep – hopefully dreamless this time.

Another quiet sound. Softer, this time, and a series of them rather than just one. Almost like... footsteps...

The mattress squeaked as a light weight landed on the bed next to her legs, and a voice spoke.

'Usagi Tsukino,' it said in tones of quiet triumph. 'At last, I have found you.'

Usagi opened her eyes again and blinked at the opposite wall. This was not how her dreams normally started. She shifted under the covers, turning to see who was talking to her. And froze as she met a pair of vivid red eyes.

'You are a sacred warrior, a chosen child of the Moon,' said the cat from the parking lot. Her coat gleamed in the faint light of the streetlamps reflected from outside, a lustrous ebony shape cut out of the night. The crescent on her forehead gleamed gold, and her eyes were shining pools of crimson.

'And you are needed.'

* * *

...


	3. 2: The First Fight!

******Arc One - An Auspicious Beginning**

**Chapter Two - The First Fight! Usagi Leaps into the Fray!**

'You are a sacred warrior, a chosen child of the Moon,' said the cat. It was the one from the parking lot, she was fairly sure of that. Most cats didn't have crescent-moon-shaped marks on their foreheads. In fact, thinking about it, she wasn't sure she'd ever seen a cat with a mark like that before. 'And you are needed.'

"… eh?" replied Usagi, intelligently. She stared at the cat for a moment, before a light blinked on in her head and she nodded to herself. "Ohhh, right. I'm dreaming." She examined the feline hallucination critically, swinging her legs out from under her covers. "You're a very odd dream, Miss Kitty. How do you know my name?"

'… I'm psychic,' said the cat in a deadpan voice. 'And I'm not a dream. My name is Luna, and I have been searching long and hard for someone like you. You are a reincarnated warrior of light and justice, reborn from an ancient empire of _are you even listening to me?_'

Usagi looked down from where she had been bouncing on the bed, flapping her arms and making whistling noises. "Huh? Oh, yeah. You might know! Tell me, Miss Psychic Dream Kitty, how do I learn to fly?"

'…' The cat glared at her. 'How would I know how you- I just said this isn't a dream!'

"I guess not…" Usagi sighed. "Oh! Then can I dream about Motoki nii-san again?" A faint blush stained her cheeks as she considered what sort of dream she could have, and she looked eagerly at the door.

'I said you're… fine, okay,' grumbled the cat. 'Hold out your hand to me, and I'll give you a very special present.' Eyes shining, the girl held out her hand expectantly, and Luna considered it gravely.

Then, in a single fluid movement, she raked a claw across it.

"… waaaahhh!" Usagi wailed, snatching her now-bleeding hand back. "Why did you do that! You're mean!" Her lips trembled, and tears gathered in her eyes. The cat simply looked at her flatly.

'_Now _do you believe you're not dreaming?'

"… huh." Usagi blinked as she considered this point, tears momentarily forgotten. And then scrambled backwards, pointing wildly at the cat. "Ahh! You're real! And talking! Talking cat! Evil talking psychic cat!"

'Finally, she gets it…' grumbled the cat. 'And I'm not a cat, technically. Or psychic. My name is Luna. And I am… well, to keep things simple and help you understand, let's just say that I'm a magical familiar spirit sworn to help and advise the House of the Moon. Which is where _you _come in.'

"I do?"

'Yes, you do. Now pay attention, I have something for you.'

Instantly, Usagi stuck both hands before her back. After a second's pause, she grabbed her pillow and held it between them as a shield.

'…' said Luna, and sighed. 'Not _that _kind of… I'm not going to scratch you again, I promise! And I'm…' she paused, considering her words carefully, 'and I apologise for scratching you the first time. It was the quickest way to get you to take me seriously. Now, watch closely.'

She curled into a ball and closed her eyes. Her fur rippled like long grass blown by a gale, and for a moment she looked less like a real, living cat and more like a feline-shaped _something_ cut out of the velvety blackness of space. Usagi's heart beat like a drum, her head spun with vertigo, and for a moment she heard the sweet symphonic tones of the music from her dreams echoed in her mind's ear. She felt… warm, all of a sudden, as though she'd spent long enough outside on a winter's day that she'd stopped noticing the chill, and only just come inside and sat down next to a heater. For the first time since the strange little cat had begun talking to her, she considered the possibility that it might be entirely serious.

Then Luna rippled again, becoming an ordinary cat once more, and uncurled. She stepped back, leaving something small and shiny where nothing had been before, and all thought was lost as the breath caught in Usagi's throat.

_Mine_. That was the first thought, instant and reflexive, an instinct stemming from so deep within her that she couldn't even name its source. It was hers, and it was precious. The next thought was wordless, and escaped her as a breathy sigh of awe and longing as she reached forward to run her fingers over Luna's gift.

The brooch that the cat had left behind was a masterpiece of craftsmanship. At its centre was a beautiful rose-pink gem, shaped into a stylised heart that rested over an upturned golden crescent moon. The disk that they were set in seemed to be shaped from alternating rings of silver and white pearl, fitted together so flawlessly that Usagi couldn't even feel the seams. Her fingers did pick up some sort of engraving, though, and as she gently lifted it up to the light, she saw that the heart and crescent sat at the centre of a lotus blossom etched into the disk as a relief. Four tiny gems set into the compass points of the outermost silver ring completed it; red, blue, green and yellow.

It made the jewellery she'd been staring at in Naru's mother's shop look like tawdry trash fit only to be discarded.

'It's yours,' said Luna quietly into the silence. 'With it, you can change… well, let's say you can change your appearance. In a sense, it is the key which allows you to unlock one of your birth-rights, transform into something called a 'guardian form'. You won't need it as you get older and master the transformation, but for now you'll have to keep it on you at all times. There are strange things happening in Tokyo. Things that the police can't deal with. Things that no h- no normal person can. You have a destiny; to fight against evil and defend humanity from whatever threatens it.'

Usagi barely heard her, still entranced by the beauty of the thing. After a moment, though, one word caught her ear. "Wait, transform? Like Sailor V?" Her eyes shone as she clasped her hands together, imagining herself fighting crime and saving the day like the masked heroine so often on the news. "Well why didn't you say so before? Sign me up! What do I do to transform?"

Luna gave her a somewhat sceptical look, but then shrugged as only a cat can. 'Hold it high in the air, and close your eyes,' she explained. 'Imagine yourself as a sacred warrior of the Moon, a guardian and protector of humanity. And say "Moon Prism Power, Make-up", to trigger your transformation. But remember, it…'

Usagi had stopped listening, though, and leapt off the bed. Holding the brooch up dramatically, she envisioned a costume for herself – a crime-fighting costume for a heroine, a Sailor-suited warrior of Love and Justice like Sailor V! "Moon Prism Power," she called out dramatically, "Make… up!"

It was like earthing a lightning bolt. Power crashed through her, a breath-taking force so great she could scarcely comprehend it. She felt it flood down her limbs, pool in her abdomen, envelop her in a tight embrace. For a brief instant that seemed far, far longer than it was, Usagi was totally and intimately aware of everything around her. She could _feel _the surging tide of bright white magic wash through her veins, burning bruises, healing hurts, replacing her midnight weariness with a fresh and vibrant rush of vitality. She felt strong and energised; able to take on the world.

Staggering a little from the high, she took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror.

"… oh, _cool!_"

She was vaguely aware of Luna talking to her in the background, but she was too absorbed in admiring her reflection to listen. She turned this way and that, grinning gleefully and striking poses to show off her new outfit to best effect.

It bore some resemblance to her school uniform, adapted to look more like Sailor V's costume. The basic costume was a white leotard, with a bow in the centre held in place by her beautiful new brooch. A short skirt came down to her mid-thigh, in royal blue, with a second bow at the base of her spine. Elbow length gloves and a pair of knee-high boots adorned her limbs, and the outfit was completed by bright red hair ornaments and a gold tiara that sat comfortably on her forehead. She winked at herself, delighting in the maturity the outfit gave her. The inch or so of added height from the low heels of her boots didn't hurt, either.

"Evil beware!" she declared, wild and spontaneous creativity flooding through her somewhat-addled mind, "I'm the Pretty Soldier; Sailor Moon, come to punish you in the name of Love and…"

She stiffened suddenly, as knowledge entered her mind without bothering to go via her senses. It simply appeared in her head, a vision-sound-smell-taste-feeling that was akin to all five senses while still being none of them. But though the sensation itself was unfamiliar, what it was communicating wasn't. Feelings of decay, darkness and danger were mixed into it, but above everything else it was a profound sense of fear for someone she knew.

"… Naru," she breathed.

* * *

…

* * *

The apartment above the jewellery store was spacious and richly furnished. It was easily as nice a place to live as any house would be, especially for something in metropolitan Tokyo. There was just enough space in it for mother and daughter to cohabit comfortably, with a little left over besides. And when Mrs Osaka had to leave town on business, it was a simple enough thing to pay one of the store assistants a little extra to make sure her daughter got enough food and sleep while she was gone.

As Naru stumbled down the stairs, her own desperate breathing filling her ears, she really wished that this time her mum had just let her take care of herself. She awkwardly leapt one of the short flights of steps, crashing into the wall of the landing and pushing off it to run down the next.

Behind her, she could hear Sara pursuing her. Or rather the… the thing that looked like Sara. Because she knew the bright, bubbly girl who worked for her mum, and whatever the thing chasing her was, it was _not _the real Sara.

'Stupid child,' hissed the monster as it clattered down the stairs behind her, skin flaking off its hands as it did so to reveal shrivelled brown hide beneath. 'Come back here!' An arm stretched out grotesquely, extending half a dozen metres to slam into the wall where Naru's head had been a second earlier. The plaster of the stairwell wall splintered under the force of the impact, drawing a shriek from Naru. The Sara-thing snarled at the miss and wrenched its arm back out as it passed the new hole in the wall, all human semblance gone from its grasping claws tipped with iron nails

The Sara-monster was wearing heels, and so Naru had a few seconds lead by the time she reached the ground floor. Sobbing with fear, she dived sideways through the door into the showroom, barely avoiding another horribly extended lunge as she did. She forced herself to get up, keep moving, push herself to her feet and…

… and to run straight into a pair of waiting arms.

For a brief moment, she felt relief flood through her. A person! Someone who could help her! "Please," she gasped, "there's… a monster… please help me…"

But she trailed off as the arms tightened around her further, and she became aware of other people in the room. In the store, late in the evening, after closing hours. With slowly-mounting dread, she raised her eyes to the woman she had bumped into. Her gaze didn't reach the woman's face, though.

It was too busy focusing on the silver-and-pearl necklace hanging around her neck, pulsing with a dark-haloed sickly beat that seemed to suck at something warm and vital within her. A necklace Naru recognised. She shrieked, trying to wrench free, but the woman had her arms in a vice-like grip. "Help!" she screamed. "Help me, someone, please! He- mmph!"

A hand was slapped over her mouth, cutting off her cries for help, and she could feel two of the rings on it exerting that same stomach-lurching pull. Her eyes moved wildly as she was manhandled around. There had to be at least a couple of dozen people in the store. All of them wore jewellery she recognised. All of them were moving in the same limp, dull manner – like puppets guided by invisible strings.

And the puppet-master was stepping through the door to the stairwell even as now. It wasn't even bothering to hurry anymore, not now that its thralls had her in their clutches. It didn't look very much like Sara at all anymore. The disguise was flaking off around its ears and cheekbones with each step, like plaster from a water-logged wall. And with her caught and held at its mercy, it dropped the pretence altogether.

In the space of seconds, the thin veneer of Sara's face flaked off entirely, like hundreds of scales being shed. Underneath it was shrivelled, wrinkled brown skin, like a corpse preserved in peat or tar, with a scar-like brand across its forehead. Its eyes were black, with feral yellow pupils, and its hair darkened to an iron grey even as she watched. Wide-eyed and fearful, Naru was too petrified to scream, or sob, or even move. The monster's mouth stretched inhumanly wide, revealing sharp, off-coloured teeth. Its arm grew and stretched to at least twice its length to grab her by the throat in a clawed hand the size of a dinner place, and it lifted her into the air.

'Did you think I was your friend?' it gloated mockingly. 'Or that you could get away by running? That anyone would help you? _Stupid _little girl. Your heart's strength is mine, and my master will reward me grandly for exceeding what I should have been able to obtain.'

Its mad grin widened even further and it began to chuckle quietly, then maniacally, evidently finding Naru's feeble scrabbling at its fingers to be hilariously funny. Naru couldn't say the same as the corpse-like digits tightened around her neck, and the horrible sense of warmth and vigour being ripped out of her resumed, far stronger than the drain from the jewellery. She could feel wet trickles running down her neck from where the nails had nicked her, but the blood felt ice-cold. The girl tried to scream, but all that came out was a faint gurgle. Robbed of strength, her arms fell limply to her sides, and tears beaded in her eyes. Was this the end?

And then, just as the world started to turn black, she heard the voice of an angel speak.

* * *

…

* * *

"Stop!" the voice rang out, and the sheer imperial force behind it was such that everyone who heard it obeyed. The monster dropped Naru involuntarily and spun, looking wildly around for the source of the command. But it was in vain. The clear female voice seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere. Though the speaker sounded young, something in its acoustics was like a hammer-blow to the unexpecting psyche.

"You can't attack people in their homes like that, even if you are a monster!" It paused, for a breath's length or so. "I am Sailor Moon! A-and I'm telling you to get away from her! Now!"

The monster sneered dismissively. Its head twisted around with a sickening creak of flesh and bone, until it was looking at the door directly behind it. 'Sailor Moon?' it scoffed. 'I've never heard of you. Show yourself!' It reached down again without looking back around, grabbing the limp form of Naru by the throat and beginning to lift her back up into the air to drain further. 'Come on out, you loud-mouthed brat!' it taunted, fingers tightening. 'I promise I won't hurt her if…'

It was interrupted by a spinning disk of pure white light flying in through one of the windows. It swung round in a perfect parabolic arc, and sliced clean through the monster's arm above the elbow. The beast shrieked, and Naru was dropped again. The light-disk scythed back to the doorway where a sailor-suited warrior now stood. She caught it by reflex, where it reverted to a golden tiara that she returned to her forehead. For a long moment, as the severed arm collapsed into greyish dust, nobody reacted – all too stunned to do more than stare. In the silence, Naru began to hack and wheeze, gasping for breath.

Then the monster _howled _in pain and fury, lurching round and gesturing with its one remaining arm. 'Kill her!' it screamed. 'Rip her to pieces!' It clutched at the stump of its arm. The injury had taken on the burnt grey colour of ash, and veins of colourlessness entwined around the stump.

The girl in question didn't react to the order. Indeed, she didn't even appear to hear it, still staring in shock and horror at the horrible wound her first attack had inflicted. "I… I'm sorry…" she stuttered, wide-eyed, "I didn't mean… I didn't know…"

'Sailor Moon!' yelled Luna from the windowsill. 'It's a monster! Move!'

The shout snapped her out of it just as the wave of bodies reached her, fists raised in preparation for mindless violence. She screamed and leapt awkwardly to one side, fell over, and began to desperately backpedal away from the advancing thralls. "I'm sorry!" she protested. "Please… just don't listen to the monster! Don't hurt me!"

Her eyes began to well up with tears, blurring her vision. The idea of using the light-disk-tiara on living humans painted horrifying images across her imagination. Something… something was very wrong! Humans wouldn't listen to monsters like this, which meant they were probably being _mind-controlled _like in some TV show! But she couldn't use the disk on a human, so if she could just talk them out of it…

But her pleas fell on deaf ears as the dull-eyed women and men advanced. A hand grabbed at her wrist roughly, missing by a fingers-width. Another managed to latch onto her ankle like a vice as her backwards shuffle hit a wall, and began to drag her into the crowd. Her heart pounding with fear, Moon flinched away and threw her hands out as she cried out in anticipation of the pain.

Pain which didn't come.

Cracking an eye open, Moon risked a quick glance in front of her. A soft white light was spilling out of her outstretched hands. The thralls keened in discomfort and flinched away from her shining barrier. She frowned, turning one of her palms on herself while keeping the other pointed at the monster's hypnotised minions. The light didn't hurt her. On the contrary, it felt cool, refreshing, like a bath in pure, fresh water. She could feel it now that she was paying attention to it; like a little stream running from some silvery wellspring of power inside her, down the veins of her arm, to spill out of her palm in the form of purifying light. It was, she realised, magic. _Her _magic. For a long moment, she just stared at it, almost as stunned by this power as by the blazing disk her tiara had turned into.

'Your magic can purify them!' called Luna. 'Break the youma's control! It's using the jewellery to control them!'

Moon looked up at the shout, just in time. With only one hand focused on them, the mob was beginning to overcome their reluctance to let the light touch them. Throwing both hands forward, Moon narrowed her eyes and forced the trickle of power flowing down her arms into a surging stream.

The white glow flooded out like daylight, and the horde hissed and squealed as it bathed them in silvery radiance. One by one, the ugly auras of the jewels that controlled them winked out, washed clean by the purifying magic. The thralls screamed and flailed before simply dropping where they stood, marionettes whose strings had been cut.

'Useless fools!' roared the monster, ignoring the fact that they were in no condition to hear it. 'Very well, Moon-brat! I'll kill you myself!' It lashed out with a vicious blow that Sailor Moon barely rolled out of the way of, and she was barely on her feet before it was upon her.

She frantically dodged and ducked the youma's claws, gasps and wails escaping each time a blow broke concrete close to her head. It was blindingly fast and strong; one claw-strike sent sparks flying as it cut a steel safety-deposit box in half. Its body bulged like clay as its arm extended to swipe at her whenever she dodged away, the nightmarish limb growing extra joints to better twist and claw at her.

A frantic open-palmed strike pushed another clawed slash away. It merely rotated its hand, and the fingers shot out to try and spear her. She threw herself out of the way, and water started gushing from the wall as the lethal iron nails punctured a pipe. The lack of one arm didn't seem to be hindering it much, and it showed no pain or discomfort from the wound. Only her own speed saved her, the lightning reflexes that came from this new power. But even that advantage wasn't entirely enough. It was landing glancing blows, not enough to break through her magical protection, but enough to sting as they struck. Moon didn't know how much longer she could keep her dodging up at this rate.

And then, as she desperately leapt sideways out of the path of a scything blow, disaster struck. Her feet caught the outstretched arm of one of the limp bodies on the floor, and she went sprawling, sliding on the now-wet floor. Rolling over, she squeaked in fright as the monster loomed over her, its feral eyes glowing in the dark, its tall figure illuminated by the dim glow from the streetlights outside. It was… bulging, lopsided, as if half its bog-body was growing extra musculature.

'Got you,' it snarled triumphantly, and brought its clawed hand down.

And screamed again. A rose had punched clean through the wrist and pinned its hand to the wall. The window was open in the direction the projectile had come from, but there was nobody to be seen there. A voice spoke, deep and masculine and confident, as the youma dropped to its knees in pain, trying in vain to pull the rose out with its teeth.

"Sailor Moon! Strike now, and destroy the monster before it can harm any more innocents!"

"But…" Moon stuttered, climbing to her feet. "It's hurt already, and shouldn't I give it a chance to sur…"

'Die!'

The youma's scream cut Moon off in surprise as it surged up, wrenching its arm from the wall. Its arm was as immobile as stone below the point where the rose still stuck through it, but it ignored the paralysis, swinging the limb like a club to hit the girl full in the stomach. The force of the blow took her off her feet sending her flying. She crashed into the wall, shattering tiles under her and forcing all the breath from her lungs in a rush. Broken glass cascaded down on her from the window above, shattered from the wall-breaking force of the impact.

Moon tried to pull herself upright. She moaned, cradling her stomach and coughing up dust. "I… huh? I'm alive?" She sat up, winced, and curled into a ball again. "Hurts…" she croaked, and gulped down breath. "Hurst too much to… ow…" A few tears began to trickle from her eyes, tracing trails in the dust. A heavy sob shook her body, before she forced it down; crying only made it more painful.

Luna dropped down beside her, her eyes darting along Moon's curled-up form. 'You're just winded, no real damage,' she reassured her charge. 'Now quickly, get up! You need to destroy the youma!'

"But…"

A loud crash caught her attention, and she looked up. The youma was fighting a new figure, tall and dressed in black. In fact, as Moon watched blearily, he was dressed in a tuxedo, with a flowing cape and a top hat. He was duelling with a long cane, which blurred through the air to parry the monster's brutish attacks with an easy grace. Stepping back from a clawed slash, he riposted, the cane making a meaty 'thwack' as it severed an iron-nailed finger. And from the trail of open wounds running up the monster's arm, he was systematically crippling its remaining limb.

As he turned slightly to deflect one an overhead swipe into a display of necklaces, sending sparkling fripperies flying, she caught a glimpse of his face in the silvery moonlight streaming through the windows. A half-mask concealed his features, leaving only his mouth and chin visible. That alone was enough for her to see that he was attractive, though.

'Sailor Moon!' hissed Luna, batting her in the leg insistently. 'Now!'

"Oh… right!" Shakily standing up and wincing as the motion jarred her aching stomach again, Moon took a deep breath. "If you won't surrender," she snatched a breath, trying to steady herself, "… won't surrender, you leave me with no choice!" she declared, reaching for her tiara. "Tiara Action!"

She hurled it, the golden ring becoming a blazing disk of light as it left her hand. The man stepped out of its way – somehow without seeing it at all – and it thrummed through the air towards the monster. Incredibly, though, the thing managed to throw itself out of the way, greying hair shorn from where it had been too slow. The locks disintegrated before they hit the ground, adding to the dust in the air, and the beast leapt through the clouds. The masked man once again blocked it, his cane leaving a gold-glowing welt across one eye.

The youma screamed mad, incoherent abuse at him, ignoring the pain and the loss of an eye. It tried to force itself past him, but snake-quick blows opened wounds all over its bog-body whenever it tried.

He ignored it. "Well done, Sailor Moon," he called over his shoulder, and brought his cane up to block the youma's arm, and severed its hand cleanly. Reaching out like a striking cobra, he grabbed it by the now-denuded wrist. "Behind you," he whispered softly. It tried to wrench out of the hold, but was unable to break the vice-like grip as it turned to see what he was motioning towards.

It was just in time to see the tiara rebound off a pillar and arc back towards it. Once again it tried to dodge. But it was not to be. Trapped, crippled, blinded in one eye; it could not escape this time even as it writhed. It tried to duck around behind him, but the man's polished dress shoe stamped hard on one foot, and it staggered back. At the last moment, the man let go and whirled away, leaving it defenceless and exposed.

There was a sound like the hiss of quenched metal, and then a susurrating thump as a mound of greyish sand was scattered across the floor.

Silence fell, broken only by the soft sounds of the city.

* * *

…

* * *

Moon caught the tiara and returned it to her forehead on pure reflex, almost without noticing. She stared at the largest streak of dust for a moment, lost in thought, and then turned gratefully to the masked man who had saved her.

Or rather, to where he had been standing. The room was empty, save for her, Luna, Naru – still coughing – and the unconscious bodies of the people the youma had controlled.

"Huh?" She looked around wildly. "Where'd he go? Hello? Mr Masked Tuxedo Person? Um… thank you for saving me!" There was no reply, and she pouted. "Hmph. No fair. He was cute; I was going to ask for- Naru!"

She scrambled across the floor to her prone friend, pulling her onto her lap and trying to remember how you administered first aid. It was… you had to get them on their side so they didn't choke or something and... she wracked her thoughts, trying to remember what the school nurse had said. Luna padded over and licked at Naru's cheek, then sniffed at her delicately.

'Her energy has been drained,' she said, 'And her throat is hurt, but she's not in any real danger from either of them. She could probably use a minor healing spell, though. All of them could, actually. You can probably cover the whole room in one spell if you stand near the middle.'

Moon nodded in understanding, gently laid Naru on the floor and stood, gingerly stepping around the bodies until she was roughly in the middle of them. In the quiet, she could hear the noises of night-time Tokyo outside, reminding her that there was a real world out there. Then she paused as something occurred to her.

"Um… Luna?"

'Hmm?' The cat was pawing at one of the pieces of jewellery, and seemed from what Moon could tell to be frowning slightly. 'What is it?'

"… how do I do healing spells?" She gestured experimentally, as if waving her arms in the right way would make curative magic burst from her fingertips. "Abra Kadabra! Moon Healing Mojo! Get-Better-Now Power!"

Nothing happened, unless one counted Luna's tail twitching slightly as she tried to restrain the urge to beat her head against the floor. Or possibly Moon's head. That might be more therapeutic.

'Concentrate on your desire to see them healed,' she explained in tones of extreme patience. 'You don't need special words; your magic comes from the heart – from emotion and intention and willpower. Your magic specifically is very good at purifying, healing and creating – anything to do with light or life. Focus on how you want them to be better, and project it outward.'

Moon closed her eyes. They weren't hard instructions to follow. All she had to do was picture Naru's limp, unmoving form, and the need to help her welled up from within. She spread her hands unconsciously as she let it out, and a soft silver-white glow emanated from them. It was faint at first, but soon it was giving off enough light to illuminate the room. The moonlight rays fell softly on the prone forms that littered the floor, soaking into their bodies and soothing their spiritual wounds. It brushed the broken glass and shards of tiling, playing over the jagged holes and splintered supports of the walls, floor and display cases. The sickly aura of the room receded, and was replaced with a gentle feeling of peace and calm.

Luna watched with a critical eye. It wasn't particularly impressive compared to some feats of magic she had seen, though the ease and purity of the light spoke well of the girl's heart. The raw material was good, which was a blessing, because the girl on top of it... the word 'ditzy' hovered on the tip of Luna's tongue, though she held back from voicing it. And that man… something about him had seemed familiar, though his appearance wasn't akin to anything she'd seen before. Still, neither was Moon's. The question was, was he friend or foe? His intervention had certainly been well-timed, but she had seen far too much to trust _that _as a measure of a person's intentions. Yet another thing to keep an eye on, she resolved. As if she didn't have enough on her hands with the self-styled Sailor Moon.

Still. She had been impressed, when Moon had first seen the youma. She hadn't broken down, or screamed, or even squeaked. Luna hadn't expected that from such an immature girl. She wasn't sure what she _had _been expecting, but bursting into tears and running away wouldn't have surprised her much. But no, the girl had squared her jaw and stepped forward to save her friend, even though Luna knew for a fact she had been trying not to shake from fear.

The fight, too. On the surface, it hadn't been terribly impressive, but… despite her wailing and crying, she'd kept getting back up to fight. And though her hesitance to hurt the youma had nearly got her killed, she was still young. Didn't know what they really were – or what powers they might serve. If she could just install some grace and discipline in the girl, Luna could see the foundation of a true heroine in her new charge.

'That's enough, Moon,' she prompted. 'They're as well as they're going to get. A good night's rest will restore their energy.' She frowned, looking around the room at the dozens of bodies, and pawed the bracelet she had been examining. The spell was broken and almost completely dissipated, but the scent of the power was familiar. She had tasted that magic before, once. Not its source, no; that much was obvious. But there were subtle details, a precision in placement and a distinctive aggression to the draining spell that stirred long-forgotten memories. 'I don't like what that thing said about sending it to her master, though,' she added. 'Whoever he is, he got a lot of power tonight. We'll have to be on watch to prevent this from happening again.'

The light faded, and Moon blinked. "Again?" She bit her lip. "I'm not sure I want to do this again… wait, do you think that masked tuxedo guy will show up next time if I do?" Her eyes lit up. "Oh! He was so cute! And _mysterious_… I wonder what he's called?" She tilted her head. "Ah! I'll call him Tuxedo Mask! And next time…" she adopted a determined expression and punched the air, "I'll definitely get his mobile number! I swear it on the Moon!"

'… that's wonderful,' deadpanned Luna. 'Now why don't you take your friend up to her room and help these people, and I'll go find the girl that youma replaced?' She sighed as Moon hurried off to obey, nearly tripping over another sleeping form in her haste to pick Naru up. If, and it wasn't certain, the youma had killed the woman to steal her form – for there were some breeds which did – she didn't want her young charge seeing it. They would have to move soon, because the noise of the fight might have had a passer-by call the police. A flash of silver drew her attention, as Moon squinted and created a light, nearly dropping the girl she carried from the brightness in the gloomy room.

Yes, there was definitely a treasure in there. But she had a long way to go before she uncovered it.

* * *

…


	4. 3: Pretty Detective Usagi Investigates!

**Arc Two - The Whims of Chance**

**Chapter Three - Pretty Detective Usagi Investigates! There's no Smoke without Fire!**

The sun shone down on another day, banishing the rainclouds of the night before. Sadly, the day it was shining down upon was a school day, and so the light was forced to make its way into a dreary first-floor classroom to shine on students who should by all rights have been allowed outside to enjoy the finer weather while it lasted. Lessons had not yet started, and the students had a few more moments to talk before their teacher arrived. It was the end of the week, and so conversation was lively as the teenagers anticipated getting out and enjoying the weekend.

And with any luck, the weather would stay clear long enough for them to enjoy it properly.

"So Mum's still in a vile mood, and there were workmen everywhere downstairs when I left in the morning," Naru was saying. "I heard one of the insurance people start to question Mum about why all the security cameras failed. And the police don't know who did it. Of course they don't." The girl snorted scornfully and squared her jaw. "And I'm sick and tired of having to tell people that I don't really remember anything about the night."

Usagi made a muffled sound from the comfort and security of her arms. It may have been meant to indicate assent, but came out more like an unintelligible grunt. She had tried to talk to Naru, but the other girl had clammed up about the events, saying she didn't remember anything. And obviously Usagi couldn't let her know about everything she knew, so it was very hard to start a conversation. And her normal chances for hanging out had been much-reduced by the way that her mother had not relented on her grounding. Luna had gone off to do something nearly a week ago, but not before levelling several dire and terrible threats at Usagi. Despite her absence, she had decreed, Sailor Moon _would _be patrolling the city and looking for threats or youma activity, and _would not _be giving away her secret identity in any way whatsoever.

Usagi was not keen to find out if she would actually follow through on her promised retribution if necessary, and so she had – with a fair amount of grumbling – gone on patrol. While having to hide the fact she was leaving the house while grounded from her mother. It had actually been fairly boring for the most part. Roof-hopping was fun, but there had been no attacks that she'd found. She did think she was losing weight from the exercise, though. There had been only one rather close call, where her mother had nearly caught her sneaking out, but she was fairly sure she had managed to talk her way out of that one with a hurried explanation that she had been leaning out of the window to shoo away a bird.

The late-night scouting trips had taken their toll on her sleep schedule, though. The energy boost from transforming – which still hadn't gotten any less exhilarating – was something of a help in sloughing off weariness. But even the lingering magical charge couldn't entirely do away with the need for rest, which was why she was currently trying to catch as much sleep as possible before maths class.

"Oh! And I heard that Sailor Moon was sighted again last night!"

The blonde head rose slightly from where it was cushioned, and emitted a somewhat more interested noise. Naru nodded eagerly, her sullen, edgy mood blown away like mist on a morning breeze. "It was only a quick shot on a rooftop, but it looks amazing!" The girl had become something of a fan of the new heroine after her rescue, and had been following her exploits religiously. Usagi found it… actually kind of flattering. And it meant she got to hear rumours of her sightings without having to answer questions from her dad about why she was suddenly interested in the newspaper, which was a big plus. She heard one of the other girls ask for a look, and Naru dived into her bag for a second, rooting around until she came out with a newspaper cutting. "Yeah, see? Here!"

The girls who had been listening to her clustered round to see, and the excited gasps and exclamations drew Usagi's attention. Blinking wearily, she got up and shuffled over, innocently elbowing a couple of girls aside to get a better look. When she saw the picture next to a headline that read 'New Sailor-Suited Vigilante', though, the lingering tiredness dispersed rapidly. She sucked in a sharp breath.

The picture was obviously taken more by luck than skill; the camera had been at a misaligned angle when it was taken and it gave the distinct impression of having been cropped and blown up from a larger image. Nonetheless, though the building and city skyline in the background were grainy and distorted, the girl in the centre was crystal-clear. She was standing right on the edge of what seemed to be an office block, turned away from the camera with one leg slightly bent as she prepared to leap from her vantage point.

And she was outlined in stunning clarity. There was an air of vitality and dynamism to her that made it look as though she would leap off the page at any second. It seemed as though every thread of her long streamers of hair was detailed, every fold of her costume. Even if the rest of the picture hadn't been grainy, it would have faded into the background around her.

Usagi whistled, impressed. She hadn't realised she looked that good when she was transformed. Then she frowned. She was turned away from the camera, but… her hairstyle was distinctive. Very distinctive. She could see that it was her, clear as day. Had… had her secret identity been blown? Damn! She should have worn a mask… like Sailor V! Or something… she threw a worried glance at her friends and flinched, bracing herself for screams and admonishments.

None came. Usagi cracked an eye open and looked around, confused. Were… were they all _okay _with her being Sailor Moon? They weren't even reacting!

"Uh… you guys aren't… mad?" she asked tentatively. Several confused looks were turned her way.

"Mad about what?" asked Naru, puzzled. "Heck, I think it's cool! Our city has its own Sailor Warrior now! Just like Sailor V! I bet she's busy fighting all kinds of evil," she added, with iron-hard certainty, "and if it's not making the papers... well, that's just a sign of how good she is!"

"Heh… yeah, well, I don't like to…" Usagi preened for a second, before realisation struck like a bolt from the blue. "Wait, do you mean you _don't _know… ah… know who she is?"

Her friends were staring at her now, in equal parts confusion and interest. "Uh… no?" Naru said, as if explaining something to a very small child. "You mean to say that you _do?_ Who is it? How?"

"Ah… uh… I… um…" Usagi's eyes widened as she realised how close she was to blowing her cover herself. "I… just thought that… uh… since she saved you and all, and carried you upstairs, you might have noticed something about her that gave you a clue as to who she was! That's all." And please, please, please, she prayed, let the universe be kind enough that if Naru did work it out from that, she wouldn't say anything, at least not immediately.

Luckily, she was saved from having to having to answer any pointed questions by the arrival of their homeroom teacher, Haruna-sensei, which distracted most of the girls around her. Naru wasn't quite as put off, and gave Usagi a hard look, but even she ceded to confusion and interest in their teacher's state.

It was an unusual entrance for a normally upbeat woman. Muttering furiously, she flung the door open with a bang and stalked over to her desk. A rather severely dented thermos was slammed down along with her bag, and she all but threw herself into her seat, scowling furiously. Choosing caution over valour, the class huddled in their seats and tried not to do anything that would set her off. Haruna was generally a cheerful woman, but her temper – as Usagi could attest – was legendary. And she was currently showing all the signs of being at a simmering boil.

But no explosion came. After a few seconds of sitting there, the muttering tailed off and she slumped slightly. Her eyes wandered over to the large dent in what had probably contained her morning coffee before something had bashed the side in, and her lip trembled slightly.

Usagi recalled that Haruna had been excited earlier in the week about a second date with a cute guy. From the quiet murmurs spreading around the classroom, she wasn't the only one putting two and two together. Eventually, Naru was the one to tentatively raise a hand.

"Ah… Haruna-sensei? Did… um…" Bleak, dead eyes focused on her and she gulped nervously before continuing in a very small voice. "Did your date not go very well?"

And that seemed to break whatever mental dam remained. Haruna growled angrily and stood, slamming her chair back as she gestured dramatically at the ceiling.

"Men are pigs!" she declared angrily, and brought her hand down in a swooping motion that covered the male portion of the class. "You boys! Let me tell you something! If you ever treat a girl badly on a date, Justice will not forgive you! If you make crude suggestions to her, act like a common lout instead of a charming prince and then blow her off to go spend time at some stupid new gambling parlour… and… and drinking with your friends, and then say that she's shrill or prude, the vengeance on heaven will descend upon you!"

There was a general murmur of assent from the schoolboys, who wisely chose not to comment on the rather specific nature of the example. Usagi eyed the dent in the thermos and winced, imagining the form that the vengeance of heaven had presumably taken.

But there was something still niggling at her, a detail that seemed odd. Haruna's judgement in the past had been a bit… strange, when it came to dating, that was true. Having her as a homeroom teacher had been an education in its own right. But still, she had been _sure _that this latest man was wonderful, gushing about how sweet and kind he had been on their first outing. Usagi had remembered it rather well, since it had taken place in the middle of an English class and gone on for long enough that she hadn't been forced to try and stumble her way through reading out a passage from the textbook. But what could cause such a sudden change in temperament? Maybe her mum had been right, and gambling really _was _evil?

Usagi's eyes narrowed slightly, and she resolved to look into this. It could be nothing, but if something was ruining dates and turning cute guys into jerks? That could _not _be allowed to stand.

* * *

…

* * *

The crackle of a pocket radio drowned out the faint pounding of the rain outside, accompanied the scratching of a pencil as Usagi did her homework and listened with half an ear. And when she got bored, she started flipping channels to try to find something interesting, before she hastily got back to work. She was permitted to have a radio on when she worked, as long as she was working when she was checked on. She really wanted to turn her computer on, but her mother had declared that if she did that before her homework was done, her punishment would be swift and terrible.

"…_ksshhrrt_… further news, Adrasteian Industries have announced that they will be showcasing their latest advanced prosthetic limb technology in… _ksshhrrt_… new late-night program, coming soon, which I'm personally looking forward to hearing! Now, over to… _ksshhrrt_… no matter how far apart we are,/We are together in my heart… _ksshhrrt_… another night of rioting in the Roppongi district has left the police hard-pressed to… _ksshhrrt_…"

Usagi hastily stopped her bored flipping through radio channels and backpedalled to the one she had just skipped over. Rioting? She hadn't heard anything about rioting. Though… she had been a bit snowed under lately, with patrol cutting into her free time. And she was still grounded. And she hadn't been out that way much, because it was _far _away. Dutifully sliding her homework to one side in the name of Justice, she listened more intently.

"_... concerned that the public disorder might be spreading, with multiple reports of attacks on police officers outside Roppongi. On the streets, rioters have been setting cars alight and engaging in looting of shops. Firefighting crews are having to work under police escort as they try to bring fires started by arsonists under control. Public officials have called for all citizens to keep off the streets, and report violent behaviour immediately. Inspector Saito Koizumi-san had the following to say; 'In no uncertain terms, we call for an end to the deplorable violence among a small minority of the population. This violence is entirely senseless and without good reason, and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. We will be bringing the full force of the law against guilty parties, and are already engaged in gathering evidence against all and any suspects.' However, despite multiple such statements, tonight looks to be an even worse night than yesterday, with the hope that the poor weather would keep people indoors looking..._"

'So you've noticed it too. Good.'

"Gah!" Usagi jerked violently in surprise, twisted round to see where the voice had come from, overbalanced and tipped over backwards. A loud thump carried through the floorboards as both chair and girl hit the floor, and downstairs in the kitchen, Ikuko sighed.

"Usagi!" she called up the stairs. "I told you not to jump around your room like that! Are you hurt?"

Wincing, rubbing the back of her head and throwing a dirty glare at the black shape on the windowsill – and how did she keep opening the window anyway? – Usagi cracked the door open and called back down. "I'm fine, mama! Just… uh… fell off my chair."

She could almost hear the exasperated eyeroll as her mother returned to her work with a parting comment of "Try not to put yourself in hospital, sweetheart." Flushing, Usagi retreated back into her room, closed and locked the door carefully, and then rounded on Luna.

"Don't _do _that!" she snapped. "You scared me half to… wait. Wow, what happened to you?"

The drenched cat on her window sill glared at her, and jerked her head back at the rainstorm hammering the ground outside. 'What do you think?' she asked irritably. 'Now if you want to make yourself useful, get me something warm and dry. Like a towel.'

A few minutes later, with Luna reduced to a wet little black head poking out of a bundle of blankets next to the radiator, Usagi squatted down next to her and cocked her head. "So," she asked curiously. "Where were you, anyway?"

A crimson eye cracked open. 'Away. On cat business.'

"… cat business?" Usagi blinked, now even more confused. "What's…"

'Business.' Luna interrupted her, opening her eyes fully. 'Which is for me to know about, and for you not to worry about. Now, what are you going to do about those youma attacks?'

"… huh? What youma attacks?" Usagi's eyes widened. "I've been patrolling! Honest! You don't have to…"

'I know you've been patrolling, Usagi-chan,' sighed Luna, and ignored the girl as she mouthed something that looked suspiciously like "oh yeah, psychic" to herself. That was not a fight Luna was prepared to have while this wet and this cold. 'I mean whatever youma is causing those riots.'

Usagi blinked again, her hands coming up in a 'wait, wait' gesture. "Wait," she said in confused tones. "Wait. I thought youma _drained _energy? That's what you said! You said they stole energy and made people sick and… and collapse and things like that! Rioters are breaking the law, not being ill!"

Luna shook her head, staring up at the girl with those deep red eyes. 'No,' she corrected, 'no, they can affect behaviour as well. And emotions are as much a form of energy as raw life force. Widespread rioting like this… the youma responsible must be altering their behaviour and then collecting the anger and aggression they generate. You need to stop them!'

"How, though?" Usagi spread her hands helplessly. "I don't know where they are! Last time I could tell Naru was in danger, but this isn't threatening anyone I know!"

Luna's tail twitched, and she nodded. 'I know. That's part of what I was gone for. I was getting you something.'

The girl's mood underwent a rapid turnaround, and she bounced back onto her bed. "Another present? Yay! Is it as pretty as my brooch? What is it? Will I be able to take it into school with me, too? What about…"

She trailed off as she caught sight of Luna's expression. "Ah heh… maybe I'll just be quiet now and let you do the weird summoning thing for it."

'How very kind of you,' Luna responded, more than a little sarcastically. She shook her way free from the bundle of towels, her fur mostly dry now, and leapt up onto the bed. Pacing around for a few seconds to find a comfortable spot, she settled down and curled up as she had done the last time. Her fur rippled, a glossy sheen passing over it like polished jet or obsidian, the moon on her forehead a crescent of burnished gold.

And then she was merely a cat again, with something gleaming amidst the velvet fur. She stretched out, kicking it away from her gently, and then returned to her curled-up ball, purring softly. Usagi idly stroked her, missing the surprised look and louder purring she got in return, as she examined what Luna had brought for her.

It was a pen. Or looked roughly like one, anyway. It was a little thicker than most pens she had seen, though not unduly so, and was made of some sort of pink material that felt smooth and cool to the touch, though she was pretty sure it wasn't metal. Twisting what appeared to be a cap, she found an ornate quill, like those fancy fountain pens she'd seen given as presents occasionally. The other end bore a faceted red jewel that neatly capped it.

She replaced the cap and twirled it in her fingers experimentally. "So… it's a pen," she observed. "Um. Thank you? What's it… actually do?"

Luna rolled her eyes. 'It's not just a pen,' she corrected. 'I wouldn't go to all that trouble for just a pen. No, this is something much more advanced – and much more useful to your cause, and current problem. It's a…' She hesitated, reviewing what she was about to say and what the chances were of Usagi understanding it. '… it works by sheathing your… hmm. It draws upon the grand coll… uh. It…'

The cat paused, sighed, and gave up. 'It's a magic wand which will disguise you,' she explained. 'It looks like a pen because the… so people don't suspect it. It should help you investigate. Activate it while picturing a false identity in your head, and it will disguise you as whatever you're imagining.' She paused. 'Well, within reason. But most real jobs will be fine. It'll even give you a basic competence in whatever it is for as long as you're transformed – enough to play the part convincingly.'

"Oooo…" Usagi turned it over in her hands, examining the pretty jewel on the end. "Does it work as an actual pen, too? Does it have special powers when you write with it? Only I think I lost mine at school today, and…"

'Usagi! Focus! And… yes, it works as a real pen. But it… doesn't have any special powers like that, no.' She gave a feline cough, and moved on hurriedly. 'Now, to activate it, say "Moon Power", and then what you want it to make you into.'

The blonde threw her a cheerful salute. "Aye aye, Captain Kitty!" she acknowledged. "Hmm. For investigating evil deeds… I should be a detective!" Twirling the pen between her fingers, she held it aloft and called out, "Moon Power! Make me a…"

'Usagi.'

The girl stumbled over the final words of the incantation, and turned a quizzical and slightly annoyed look on Luna. "_Now _what?" she complained.

The cat stared up at her with a flat, sardonic air. 'It might be an idea to leave the house _before _turning into a complete stranger your mother won't recognise.'

"… oh. Uh… ah… eh heh heh…" Usagi grinned sheepishly. "Whoops? But… I'm still grounded. How do I get out?"

Luna rolled her eyes fondly. 'Same way you've been getting out for your patrols. Wait an hour or two for it to get dark and then leave through your window as Sailor Moon. And don't forget something waterproof. It's tipping it down out there. I can tell you. Accursed Ea… accursed weather.'

* * *

…

* * *

And so it was that an hour and a half later, a pretty young detective in a waterproof coat and hat strolled along under the light of the streetlamps. She was talking quietly to the cat that sat in her shoulder-bag, the rain pattering down on the covering.

"So I can't use it to transform when I'm already Sailor Moon because… it's like I'm already disguised?"

'Yes, simply put. It's the same mechanism, just a lot stronger. While you're Sailor Moon, people can only see you as that identity. They literally can't make the connection between Sailor Moon and Usagi Tsukino – it just doesn't occur to them, any more than it would occur to them to think that Sailor Moon was really the Prime Minister in disguise.'

Usagi made a face at that, and Luna chuckled softly before continuing. 'The only way to break the protection is for them to see you transforming. Or for you to tell them yourself, which is why you need to keep it a secret.'

"…" said Usagi to that, guiltily remembering how close she had come to spilling the beans that morning in school. "Urk. Heh. Yeah, I'd… ah… better be really careful. Not to let anything slip accidentally. I really wouldn't want to do that."

Luna shot her a mildly suspicious look, but decided that it probably wasn't worth worrying about if Usagi wasn't actually panicking over it. 'Right now, you'd do better being careful about those rioters. Where are you going, anyway? Do you even have a plan worked out?'

"I'm heading towards Roppongi," answered the young woman distractedly, pausing to admire her reflection in the glass panel of a phone booth. She looked to be in her early twenties, dressed in a casual suit under the raincoat. Her hair, in a short bob cut, peeped out from under her hat – just like the detectives in the old films she'd seen. And it was doing a really good job keeping her dry, too. "Hmm. I wonder if this is what I'll actually look like when I'm this old for real?" She flicked her fringe out of her face, winked at her reflection, and moved off again. "Anyway, I'm going for sweet and simple at first. Find a group of the rioters and follow them for a while. Without anything more to go on, information is the best thing to go for. Maybe… like… the youma has to go from person to person to collect their energy, and so if it comes for them, I can ambush it!"

She paused reflectively for a moment, considering. "Hmm. Maybe if that doesn't work, I'll try transforming into a pretty punk rocker and trying to talk to them. But that's not my plan A, since… violent rioters."

'…' Luna stared at her. 'That's… a good plan. A very good plan,' she said in shock. Then her eyes narrowed. 'Wait, are you sure you're still Usagi? Even the knowledge that comes with the transformation shouldn't make for that large a change.'

"Hey!" Usagi pouted at her. "What's that supposed to mean? And this was my plan before I transformed, I'll have you know! Is it so hard to…" She trailed off as Luna raised a paw, her ears twitching. She turned her head to the side, eyes fluttering closed, and scented the air delicately. After a moment's concentration, she spoke.

'Well, whether it's really your plan or not,' she said, 'you're about to get a chance to try it. There's a group coming. Loud voices. Smashing glass. Probably rioters.'

"Ha!" hissed Usagi triumphantly. "We have good luck, see? Can you tell how many of them there are?"

'What do I look like, a dog? I can't smell that kind of detail, especially through the rain!' hissed Luna right back. Nevertheless, she closed her eyes again, ears twitching intently. 'I think… there are at least four or five different voices. Probably not many more than that. They're getting closer, hide. Now!'

Usagi was already moving to obey. She could hear the approaching group as well now, the drunken shouts and occasional sound of smashing glass. She hurried over to someone's front gate, where a break in the thick hedge that walled off the tiny front garden gave her a nice shadowy alcove to hide in. Pulling her coat collar up over her face, she peeked out as the source of the sounds came onto the junction with the street she was on.

There were half a dozen of them. They looked like office workers, from what she could see –certainly, three or four of them were wearing suits that were somewhat the worse for wear, and one had a tie around his head as some kind of headband. Another was carrying a crowbar, and seemed intent on smashing the windows of every car he passed, egged on by his laughing comrades. Usagi winced as he drove it through the front screen of a Honda, setting off the car's squealing alarms, and swaggered onwards. Nobody was coming out to stop them, though she suspected there were probably a few discreet phone calls to the police being made from inside the locked houses.

She slunk out of the shadows as they passed, ghosting along with quiet, wary steps to the corner as they continued down the road. She didn't think it was likely that anyone could hear her in this rain, but there was no such thing as being too cautious when there were groups of men – who were affected by evil youma magic! – with crowbars around. There weren't many other people nearby, what with the weather and the warnings on the news, so following them on the same street wasn't an option.

Nodding to herself, she turned on her heel and made for the next street across from theirs, running parallel to their course. She wondered, as she did so, exactly where all these ideas were coming from. Luna had said that the disguise would give her a basic competence in the skills that the disguise should have, but… it was _weird_, experiencing it. Like she was drying her hair, or following the route to school, an instinctive knowledge so familiar that it was barely even conscious any more.

The hoodlums weren't moving too fast. She felt a little bad thinking of them that way, since at least half of them were probably law-abiding citizens when not under a youma's influence, but it was a pretty good description of their behaviour. She could only imagine that the fact they hadn't been picked up by the police yet must be due to how many other gangs of youma-thralls were on the streets tonight. And this close, she could tell that they definitely were under the power of some dark magic. She could _feel _it in each of them, like a wriggling worm at their breast, fangs fastened leech-like onto their heart. It was disgusting even from a street away, and a convulsive shudder went through her as she imagined actually having one _attached_.

It was at this point, after about five minutes of following them, that Usagi noticed something. Not about her targets, who were still blissfully unaware of the shadow dogging their footsteps from a street away, catching glimpses and glances of them through junctions and keeping track of them easily by the noise they were making. No, she noticed something about herself.

She was wearing heels.

In and of itself, that wasn't too surprising. She had asked the Disguise Pen to turn her into a _pretty _young detective, after all, and a nice attractive set of short heels worked nicely with that. No, the surprise was that she had been walking for at least half an hour since she left home in them, and she was still upright. Usagi was normally barely capable of walking in inch-high heel-platforms, but these were at least three inches, and she was moving just fine. Her face lit up in triumph, and she cheered in…

"…!"

… and she _very carefully stifled _the cheer that would have alerted her quarry to her presence, as well as a scream from the bolt of panic that had shot through her like a lightning bolt. And then a second scream from the fact she had just stepped in a puddle and her feet were soaked. Trembling slightly, she leaned against a wall to let her racing heart calm down a bit. That had been a scarier moment than she was willing to admit. Beside her, Luna seemed to think so as well, as her fur slowly settled from where it had briefly stood on end, and her tail relaxed from its rigid line. She quietly retracted her claws before Usagi looked down, and was casually licking a paw by the time she did.

"Luna!" murmured Usagi in hushed delight. "Look at me! I'm walking! In heels!"

'Yes yes,' agreed Luna, not unkindly. She could see that it was a big thing for the girl, and empathised a bit with the clear delight she was radiating. It was hard not to, she was all but glowing. 'It's something that humans would believe a person like the one you're disguised as could do, I would imagine. Do it long enough and it might carry over to your untransformed form. But for now, they're pulling away, so maybe we should move on?'

"Right, yeah. Sorry." Usagi stood again and moved off, this time paying attention to how she was moving, how she was walking. Maybe if she concentrated really hard on how she was balancing _now_, it would give her some understanding in how to balance when she was normal. It sounded like it should work, and she focused on the easy rhythm she had been moving with only a moment before.

It didn't come. Too late, Usagi remembered the way that some things were only effortless as long as you weren't concentrating on them. The thought came just as she stepped on an inopportune rain-slick pavement slab, and from there it was an achingly long journey downwards past a couple of bins waiting for the rubbish collection the next morning, with her limbs flailing wildly to find some kind of purchase.

She found purchase alright. Unfortunately, her grip on the bins only served to pull them down with her, a great clatter rising as they hit the ground in a heap. Her purse and Luna went flying – the cat voicing her protest as she and the bag landed in a puddle – and a heel broke off her left shoe. Struggling to her feet, pulling the now-useless footwear off and throwing them to one side, Usagi froze, hoping against hope that they would write it off as something innocent…

"Hey, what was that?"

"Came from over there!"

Usagi didn't wait for any more. She turned and ran.

* * *

…

* * *

It was dark. It was cold. It was wet. She was tired. She was scared. Her feet stung and ached from the abuse she was putting them through, and her tights were torn and soaked. She had lost her hat. Angry shouts and sounds of pursuit echoed behind her, and the biting shrill of the wind whistled in her ears.

Eyes wide, breathing harsh, she ignored it all and ran. And if there was one thing Usagi Tsukino could do, it was run. Anyone who had seen her on a schoolday morning could attest to that. Her bare feet pounded the pavement as she fled like a terrified gazelle, turning down side-streets at random, keeping to the smoothest pavements she could see.

The shouts grew further and further behind, and eventually she ducked behind a car, cradling her stinging feet. A few tears slipped out, invisible against the rain streaming down her face, but she bit her lip remorselessly. She was too terrified to even think about screaming. Luna had disappeared at some point – left behind by her rapid flight. She couldn't bring herself to worry about it. She had to hide, she had to get away. She had to do something about her feet, too, because she couldn't escape if she was hobbling. Digging the Disguise Pen out of her pocket, she held it tight and whispered to it.

"Turn me back."

A faint wash of cool air skimmed over her, and she shrunk back down into her teenage self, still dressed in her school uniform. Shoes, thankfully, included. She peeked out from behind the car, carefully. Hopefully, she had lost them, she couldn't see anyone…

"Hey!"

The shout had come from behind her, but she recognised the voice. Without even bothering to turn around, Usagi launched herself back into a flat-out sprint, turning the fear and terror into raw adrenaline. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realised that they couldn't have recognised her, she looked different like this… but it was too late. She was already running now, and they were giving chase. She couldn't stop and turn into Sailor Moon, not where they might see her. She would have to do this the hard way.

After a nearly a minute of running, she was just about beginning to flag, when salvation beckoned. She darted left and made for an ill-lit path that wound around a wooded hill. The men came around the corner a few seconds after her, screaming hoarse threats at the fleeing figure, and pelted off down the shadowy road after their quarry.

Or at least one of them did. The other one paused, clutching his knees and gasping for breath. The rain was getting heavier, and the fall of droplets filled the air as it beat down upon leaves and stone like. In the street lights, the man's breath steamed.

No.

That wasn't steam. Thin white columns of smoke crept out of his nostrils, joined moments later by a thicker cloud from his mouth. It was almost as if he had an unseen cigarette, but the smoke was too thick for that, and it did not dissipate in the wind. It flowed to the left, and then to the right, ignoring the beating rain and the hacking coughs of the man – of its host. In the street lights, the cohesive smoke almost looked like a face.

It hissed, the hiss of a deodorant can thrown onto a fire, promising violence. The man stumbled forwards, limbs moving all wrong. His head and his torso led; his legs followed, desperately trying to keep a grip on the ground. It was almost like... like if someone had tripped him, his legs would have been dragged behind, as he was drawn on by his chest, by the smoke. He was drawn to a small hokora which stood by the street light, the water running down the hill past it in gushing rivulets.

There was a second hiss, and the passage of the smoke was stopped, like fog against unseen glass. For a moment, it curled and coiled against the flat pane, billowing out angrily as if trying to seek a way through.

And then it was inhaled again, a gasping shudder that left the man flat on the ground. Coughing – the sound somehow more healthy this time, rather than the desperate hack it had been before – the man pulled himself to his feet, and blinked heavily. His tie-headband had slipped back down around his neck, and his bald patch was a crop circle which shone with sweat and rainwater in the orange light of the streetlamps. Without a second look, he turned on his heel, and headed directly away from the shrine.

A moment or two passed. Then the bushes rustled, and a teenage girl rolled out of them and pulled herself to her feet.

Usagi coughed, pushing sodden hair away from her face. "That… that was…" She gulped, "_way _too close. That… there was…" A distant yell and another smashing sound punctuated the pounding rain, and she flinched. "And… uh… I really don't wanna be here if they come back."

She looked around for somewhere better to hide than the bushes, and remembered the noticeable absence of her cat. "Uh… Luna? Luna?" She tried to call out her partner's name while simultaneously keeping her voice as quiet as possible, resulting in a loud whisper. A soft thud from behind her sent her spinning round, arms raised protectively, heart thudding in fear.

A small black shape paced delicately out of the shadow of a streetlamp.

'Here,' said Luna quietly. 'And keep quiet. Those two were the only ones to keep up, but the others were following you too.' Another yell came from the direction they had come from, proving her point. 'I, of course, just followed those two idiots without them noticing,' sniffed the cat. 'Which wasn't difficult. Your talents at staying undetected, however, need work. Now, you should find someplace to hide until they get bored and leave the area. Other than the bush.'

Still breathing too hard to speak easily, Usagi nodded distractedly. "Luna..." she began, "Luna... there's... there's smoke living inside them. It's... I felt something was wrong, but... that. It. It has to be stopped! It's _wrong_" Impulsively, she knelt down and gave the soaked cat a quick, relieved hug. She'd been scared for a moment that she'd lost her snarky feline friend, and... no, she wasn't afraid to tell anyone how the sight of the man flailing and pulled along by the smoke he had breathed out had scared her.

'I know,' Luna said, enduring the hug. She sniffed at the air. Iron... yes, iron, so very strong. A bad scent. But there was something else. No, several somethings. Several somethings she couldn't separate, and which bore investigation. And at the moment, her ward was in no state to continue investigations. 'Come on, you need to find somewhere hidden. And out of the rain, if at all possible.'

Usagi nodded again, and began to look around for a hiding place. Spying a long set of stairs topped by a shrine gate, she checked the opening times on the sign at the foot of the steps and… yes, a quick check of her watch told her it should still be open, just about. And… hey, shrines were holy ground, right? If a minor shrine like that had been able to stop the smoke up close, then a proper one... well, they might not go up there at all! Even if they didn't care about that, it was a _long _set of stairs. Normally she'd balk at that, but in this situation, any reason for the thugs not to go up there was a good enough one for her to do so as fast as possible.

Pausing only to hastily scrub some of the dirt and leaves off her dress, Usagi bolted up the wide stone steps. Soon, she was lost in the shadows that clung to the hill, a dark shape amidst the evening murk that slipped under the torii and into the shrine proper.

The legend on the white wooden gate was just barely visible in the low light of the moon and stars.

Hikawa Shrine.

* * *

…


	5. 4: A Lucky Break!

**Arc Two - The Whims of Chance**

**Chapter Four - A Lucky Break! Usagi Stumbles Onto a Lead!**

'Remember, if they ask, just say that you ran into a group of the rioters on your way home from a school club and ran away. Don't say anything about having come out looking for- whoa!'

As Luna crossed the boundary of the shrine and set her paw down at the foot of the long stone stairway, all of her fur fluffed out for an instant as if she'd had an electric shock. Her tail shot up, rigid, and her ears perked up to their most alert position.

"Luna? What? What is it?"

'Something…' Luna was already looking around as her fur settled down again, her nose twitching as she scented the air. 'Yes, there are definitely spirits living here. More powerful ones than I had suspected. I wonder who…' She glanced up at Usagi, feline eyes narrowed. 'I need to go and check this out. I'll meet you back here when I'm done. Rest yourself, get warm and dry, and calm down from your fright. Is that alright? Relax a little until I'm finished, and then we can go home afterwards and try a different way tomorrow evening.' The cat paused, considering. 'And don't do anything unwise while I'm gone,' she added, somewhat snippishly.

Usagi personally felt that was a little mean, but refrained from commenting as the lithe black shape vanished into the undergrowth. Looking up at the long, _long _flight of steps up to the shrine, she heaved a put-upon sigh and began to climb, blinking the rain out of her eyes. She was shivering slightly, her uniform soaked through, and she had to admit that it would be nice to get inside and into the warm. She just hoped that whoever was in charge of the shrine was friendly.

The climb was steep, but she reached the top without too much difficulty. Lit by the sodium glow of the city lights below, the old shrine was a cluster of beautiful buildings in the traditional style. It was probably amazing to look at when it wasn't late at night and pouring with rain. Even through the downpour, a sense of peace lay over the place, empty of visitors at the moment. Usagi stepped through the archway at the entrance, and the distant noises of the city seemed to quieten slightly, as if muted. She took several deep, calming breaths, hoping with all her heart that the smoke-monster-things wouldn't dare follow her up here.

The peaceful scene didn't mean much to someone who was cold, wet and still shaking from fear, though. Hugging herself, teeth chattering, Usagi edged under the shelter of the broad, curving roof of the nearest building. Her clothes were still soaked, though, and she was going to have a job and a half getting back home like this, doubly so explaining why her school uniform was soaked through. Maybe… maybe she should just transform into Sailor Moon and go home? Luna was right, they could try and investigate some more tomorrow, and…

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a voice. It was a loud, raucous voice that broke through the murmuring susurration of the rain with bawdy, jovial tones. If voices could wear clothes, this one would have been sporting some sort of gag item out of a joke shop. It brought to mind the sort of person who found whoopee cushions and balloons down the shirt to be hilarious. Usagi was fairly sure she could actually hear it ogling her, and she was made more than a little aware of the fact that her school uniform's top was white. And wet. And clinging.

"Why, hello there, sweetheart!" the voice said.

Usagi turned to find a goblin waving at her. At least, it looked like a goblin. Surely, no human could leer like that, could they? But no, as the figure came closer, sheltered as she was under the wide roof of the shrine, it became apparent that it was, in fact, a very short, very bald and very old man with bushy eyebrows and more wrinkles than she could count, dressed in the white robes of a Shinto priest and grinning at her widely. Her arms went protectively to cover her chest.

"Good evening!" he greeted her, far more boisterously than she would have expected someone his age to be capable of this late at night. Come to think of it, he was moving a fair clip faster as well. "And what's a pretty young girl like you doing…" He stopped and blinked at her, taking in the wide, frightened eyes, the drenched state of her uniform and the mud and leaves that stained it.

The man's wide grin faded, and Usagi felt a small kernel of surprise through the general shock from everything that had happened to her so far at how much more serious it made him look. He wasn't quite wise-looking – nothing with those eyebrows could look wise – but it was certainly a far cry from the dirty old goblin he'd looked like a moment ago.

"Ah," he said, his voice more level, and frowned. "Are you alright, young lady? You can come inside if you wish." He slid one of the doors open and beckoned the shivering girl inside. It was warmer inside the shrine, and Usagi went through the motions of taking her shoes off and huddling down over a tiled patch of floor on autopilot, vaguely aware of the old man talking soothingly too her.

"You're not hurt… hmm, no, it doesn't seem so. Good good. Do you want a blanket? I think we have a few somewhere around here… and then you can tell me what you were doing out here this late, and in this kind of weather. It's not safe on the streets at the moment, you know. We'll get you warmed up, and… and would you like me to give your parents a ring to let them know you're safe?"

Urk. A pang of panic shot through Usagi's gut as he bustled off to get her a blanket. Her parents… were going to kill her. Looking at her uniform in the light, it was muddy, drenched and torn in a couple of places, with leaves and twigs still sticking out of it. There was no way she was going to be able to hide this from her mother.

Drat! And she was still under curfew! She couldn't even explain why she'd really been out… she needed an excuse, fast. Some reason she'd been all the way out at a shrine in… where was she, anyway? The sign had said… Hikawa.

Hikawa Shrine. Why did that seem familiar?

Wait, _Hikawa! _Now she remembered! This was the shrine she'd heard gossip about, the one with the really effective talismans and fortune-telling. She wracked her memory… wasn't there supposed to be a priest with the second sight here? Or was it a shrine maiden? Regardless, maybe…

… ah ha, yes! She could say that she had been intending to get a talisman for good luck on the upcoming test! Mama would still shout at her… Usagi winced slightly at how _much _shouting she would be in for once her mother had reassured herself that her baby girl hadn't been hurt – but saying that she'd been doing something to improve her marks, even if it was sort of not exactly quite according to the rules, might get her off _too _bad a punishment. Especially if it worked! And hey, she might as well make it reality and really get one while she was here! It might make her ace that test after all!

The old priest came back in with a thick blanket that smelt musty enough that Usagi suspected he'd dug it out of a cupboard somewhere, and wrapped it around her shoulders. She nodded to him in thanks, her teeth chattering in earnest now that she was beginning to warm up.

"Th-thank-k y-you," she managed to get out. "I… r-ran into some of th… the r-rioters. On my way here. Had t-to hide in a bush."

A bushy eyebrow – the only patches of hair on the old man's bald skull – quirked upwards. "On your way here?"

Usagi nodded, hoping her story would pass muster. She was beginning to feel better now. The blanket was scratchy and musty, but it was also toasty warm and dry, and was soaking the moisture and cold out of her sodden clothes. "I have a t-test coming up soon, and I heard that Hikawa Shrine d-does the best good luck charms around, even if it was a bit of a walk from my home. And I'm… uh…" she blushed, "k-kind of grounded at the moment, so I snuck out late to see if I could get one to help me p-pass." She wrinkled her nose ruefully. "If I'd known I was gonna run into rioters like that, I'd've stayed in and done more homework," she added, entirely truthfully.

He laughed at that, loud and lively. "Ha! Well, who am I to deny a pretty young girl who's come all this way in the rain to patronise this humble shrine?" He threw her a wink. "I'll give you a discount for your good taste."

Usagi giggled a little at that – he was a bit of a dirty old man, but he seemed harmless and nice enough, and he was a lot cooler than most of the old people she'd met. He grinned back at her. "And hey," he joked, "if you like it here you could be a part-time shrine maiden! We have an opening! Work here in a beautiful shrine on your afternoons and weekends, the pay is good, and you get to…"

A voice from behind her snapped out like a whip and cut him off in mid-sentence.

"Grandfather!"

Usagi turned. There was no real thought or choice involved in the matter. The clear, commanding voice was filled with passion and crackled like the snapping embers of a bonfire. She couldn't help but see who it had come from. As it turned out, it had come from the girl now striding towards her.

Long, sable hair fell down the white haori of a miko's outfit, fluttering slightly with each step. The girl was Usagi's age, and several centimetres taller than her. She was also _gorgeous_; clear smooth skin, a perfect hourglass figure and deep, dark eyes. Irritation smouldered in them, directed past Usagi at the old man who was grinning sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head.

"Ah… Rei, heh…" he chuckled without a trace of shame. "Forgive an old man his little joke?"

Usagi stared. Something quietly did a backflip in her stomach, and she was vaguely aware of her heart hammering twice as fast as normal in her chest. Another jolt of butterflies took flight in her stomach as the girl's gaze traced over to her, and changed.

First, for a brief fraction of a second, was recognition. It was gone almost immediately, swallowed by shock, then confusion, and then a mix of emotions that Usagi couldn't quite put words to it, and which faded into vague puzzlement. Usagi felt it too, the strange déjà-vu sensation of having met the girl before, though with no idea of where or when or how. And then it was over, leaving Usagi reeling internally, as irritation returned and the girl strode forwards.

"_Honestly_, grandfather!" she snapped. "Leave the poor girl alone, she's cold and drenched! And shrine maidens are more than just eye candy for you! We are not going to find anyone interested in working here if you _keep offering the job to random visitors!_"

"I wouldn't mind working under you," said Usagi without thinking. Then her brain kicked into gear, and she flushed as it repeated what her mouth had just blurted out.

The girl – Rei – slowed to a stop, looking at her. It should have been a quick glance, a dismissive look to convey 'keep quiet' before turning her ire back on the old priest. But somehow, her gaze got stuck. Usagi shifted nervously as those deep, dark eyes traced over her, dismissal replaced by evaluation.

"Hmm," said the girl. The look of faint confusion was back, tinged with vague recognition. But again, bossiness muscled it out of the way, and she grabbed Usagi's hand. "Come on, let's get you changed and warmed up. Grandfather said you looked like you'd been pulled through a bush, but I didn't realise he meant literally."

"Well, I'm sure you can take good care of her and get her looking wonderful again!" grinned the old man, winking cheerfully. "In the meantime, if the young lady will give me her phone number, I'll contact her parents and let them know she's safe."

He grinned. "Heh… it's been a while since any pretty girls gave me their phone number, too!"

"Grandfather!"

* * *

…

* * *

In a numb daze of delayed shock and impending parental doom, Usagi allowed herself to be chivvied into a spare room and ordered into changing out of her sodden uniform and into a spare miko's outfit. She couldn't help but notice that she did not fill it out nearly as well as its original owner did. She also noticed that the other girl had pens tucked into her sash, which was rather incongruous when put together with the rest of her appearance.

The shrine maiden had disappeared off somewhere as she was changing, but ducked back into the room as she finished drying her hair with two mugs of something hot and… well, Usagi didn't really taste it at the speed it went down, but it certainly warmed her up a lot. As she happily sighed and settled back in her seat, hugging the clean, dry fabric of the miko's outfit to herself, the other girl looked her up and down with an expression she couldn't quite place and sipped from her own mug. After a moment, she frowned and set it down unfinished as whatever was bothering her surfaced.

"Have you ever been here before?" she asked. "It's been bugging me… you seem familiar."

Usagi shook her head. "No, I'd never really been here before. Heard about it, but… anyway, I'd definitely remember meeting you. I'm sure I've never seen anyone like you at school." Again, she realised too late what that must have sounded like. What _was _it about this girl that kept making her do that? Or was she just that rattled still from the youma-thralls?

"Hmm." It was a short, evaluative sound, followed by quiet in the room as Usagi gratefully drank the green tea. There was a soft tapping, as the other girl flicked her mug idly. "Were you serious about what you said back there? We… do need another shrine maiden, I suppose. There's a paycheck in it, and you don't need any qualifications. I would li..."

She cut off, and paused for thought briefly before restarting. "Grandfather says I'm too... intense towards girls who might be interested, so I suppose I'm willing to give you a try. But I'll warn you, you'd be expected to work. Not just rites, either, you'd be helping care for the shrine. That means sweeping, cleaning, dances… all sorts of things. I won't tolerate slacking."

Usagi hesitated. A job? She was barely capable of doing her homework on time – in fact, before Luna had shown up, she _hadn't _always been capable of doing her homework on time. Even now it took a lot of nagging. But… something about the beautiful dark-haired girl attracted her like a magnet. It wasn't just the girl's looks, either. There was a force to her, a presence that seemed to sing in a way that Usagi knew she should know, but couldn't put a name to.

Her mother had always told her that when she didn't know what to do, she should trust in what her heart told her.

Usagi took a deep breath. "Um… yes ma'am. And I know, I'd… uh… I'm willing to work hard on important things like this." And wasn't that the truth. Though she probably couldn't put 'defending the city from evil monsters' on her resume. Pity, really. She was fairly sure that would look good. Oh, but this job would actually look just as good on university applications, which the school was telling them they should be already thinking of.

The girl frowned. "Don't… 'ma'am' me. My name is Rei. Rei Hino. Use it."

"Usagi Tsukino," offered Usagi hastily. She got another of those long, searching looks that made butterflies flutter around in her chest and stomach.

"… right. Well, Tsukino-san, this isn't exactly normal hiring practice, but… okay, I suppose. We can talk about what hours you can work and what you'll be paid some other time. Tomorrow, at the very earliest." She looked Usagi up and down critically. "And get you a uniform, too. Which Grandfather will not be present for." This last was said in warning tones without looking away from Usagi. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the old man wilt in disappointment at the door. She hadn't even seen him arrive.

"Ah, granddaughter! Would you truly dash an old man's hopes and dreams so cruelly?" he lamented melodramatically. The girl – Rei – just rolled her eyes at him, and he dropped the act good-naturedly. "Anyway, I called Tsukino-san's parents. Her mother was… not best pleased at her behaviour, but agreed that with the rioters on the streets, it would be best if she stayed here for now."

"Huh?" Usagi interjected, suddenly worried. If she stayed here, how was she going to tackle the youma? And… and Luna! What about Luna? Usagi was meant to be meeting her outside the shrine! "Ah heh… no, no, it's fine, really! I'll be fine!"

"You will not," Rei put in. "Not with those rioters out there. They're bad enough in the daytime – a couple of groups recognised me from the shrine and harassed me for good-luck talismans on my way to school. Probably for the stupid new gambling house they were talking about."

Her grandfather raised an eyebrow. "Harassed you? You didn't tell me about this."

Rei shrugged. "Honestly, they weren't much older than me, and they backed off both times as soon as I took their leader down. But you," she turned back to Usagi, "are not going out on the street where there are gangs of grown men wandering around looking to do violence."

"I… I can just take a bus back, or something!" protested Usagi, unwilling to give up quite so easily. Then she remembered that going home now would mean facing her mother sooner, and paused to think.

It proved a moot point, as the old man shook his head. "Absolutely not. People have been going missing from the late-night buses recently. I'm not going to risk that happening to my newest shrine maiden! Besides, there's a spare room right next to Rei's. It will be no problem, honestly."

Just as he finished, a sudden clamour started up outside, cawing and screeching and the rattling of branches. It was audible even over the sound of the rain. Rei glanced back over her shoulder and frowned. "Urgh," she muttered to herself. "Now what are they… excuse me, Tsukino-san. Something has disturbed the crows again. I need to go take care of this." With a deliberate air, she picked up a broom which seemed a little sparse on the bristles, stared out the window, and sighed to herself. "Coat, coat, coat…" she muttered to herself, looking out at the rain.

"Um… right." Usagi shifted nervously as she walked off, and glanced over at the priest. "Um, in that case…" she yawned theatrically. "You know, I'm… actually _really _sleepy. I should probably go to bed now so that I can wake up early tomorrow. Uh…" she hesitated briefly. "… where am I staying?"

* * *

…

* * *

Sneaking out of the shrine, it turned out, was both harder and easier than sneaking out of her house. Harder, because she was in the room right next to Rei, and had to wait until the other girl had got back, checked in on her and settled down. Not to mention how much care she had to take not to make any noise. But it was easier, too. The shrine was larger than home, and there were no buildings adjacent to it. She didn't have to worry about being spotted leaving through her window by a neighbour.

Transformed once again into a detective – with a waterproof hat and coat – she slunk down the long set of steps that led down to the road. Luna was waiting for her on a rock at the bottom of the hill, looking frazzled. There were several twigs caught in her fur, and a mudstain down the side of her flank which she was busily cleaning off in between bouts of low and irate muttering.

'… uncouth, unintelligible, arrogant, hostile, violent daughters of… Usagi, there you are.' She made one last attempt at the mud, then uncurled from her sitting position and leapt lightly off the rock, stalking over to Usagi's side to take shelter under her coat. 'I was about to come and get you, what took you so long?'

"Uh… it's complicated. Did… things go well, then?" Usagi asked.

Luna huffed irately. 'Not at all. There are definitely two spirits living there. But they're in crow form, which they refuse to leave, and they either can't or won't talk to me. They can _understand _me just fine, but as soon as I mentioned leaving the shrine and doing even the slightest thing to _help_, they attacked me. And brought the rest of their mob in on it.' She hissed in annoyance. 'Needless to say, I'm not going back there again if I can help it. I rather doubt I would be welcome. Oh, if I... well, never mind. Let's go home. Pick me up and get me out of this accursed rain.'

"Um," said Usagi. "About that."

There was a long silence. With dreadful slowness, Luna turned her head to face Usagi.

'Usagi,' she said in dangerously level tones. 'What did you do?'

Somewhat garbled explanations ensued, as they made their way towards Roppongi. Luna listened mostly in silence, only occasionally interjecting.

'You said _what._'

Certain details were expanded upon under the crimson-eyed feline glare.

'A _part-time job?_'

And were promptly and duly admonished.

"Ahhh! Not the claws!"

However, regardless of Luna's annoyance at this new development, they had a job to do, and so after only a minute or so of retributive ire, the pair were on their way again. The rain was slackening off as midnight approached, and the steady drumming diminished to a low pitter-patter as star-speckled black sky started to peek through holes in the clouds.

"Anyway, while I was there, I think I got a lead," explained Usagi as she jogged down the street; Luna nestled once again in the shoulder bag that had come with the transformation. The light from the streetlamps cast an orange-yellow glow on her rain-slick hat and coat that faded and brightened as she moved past them. "Rei-san mentioned something about a couple of groups of rioters trying to get good-luck charms for a new gambling place. And Haruna-sensei said the same thing about the guy she was meant to be dating. It's not much to go on, but it's a lead."

'A casino?' Luna frowned, shifting position slightly. 'That does sound like the kind of place a youma might infiltrate. How are you going to find it?' She paused, thoughtfully. 'And do you have a plan for when you do?'

Usagi fell silent, thinking. She wasn't breathing hard yet, despite the light jog she was maintaining – having gone for flat shoes this time – and the easy pace she was maintaining gave her time to think. "I dunno," she admitted. "I guess I'll keep my eyes open… maybe follow a group of rioters, or try and listen to them talking and hope they mention it." She glanced around – how far had she come, half a mile? Something like that. She was into Roppongi now, and bright signs were visible on a few of the buildings, probably nightclubs and bars. She could see several more that were dark and dimmed, though. Apparently, the rioters hadn't been very good for business here.

'Alright,' said Luna. 'I suppose a plan for what to do once we find it can wait until we've actually done so. I'd suggest… urgh, you don't know how to sense for dark energy yet, do you? Tch… I should have taken the time to teach you before leaving… alright, listen closely. You remember the sensation you felt from the youma a week ago? And the thralls tainted by this youma's power?'

"Um…" said Usagi, staring straight ahead with wide eyes, "yes, but…"

'No buts. Close your eyes and focus on extending your senses. Open your heart to the world and feel the ebb and flow of its energy, look for similarities to that feeling. You should be able to get a general sense of where the corrupted power is.'

"Uh, okay, but…"

'Usagi.' Luna looked up at her. 'It's okay if you're nervous, I'm not expecting you to get it on the first try.' She frowned. 'This is really something I should have made sure you knew earlier… my fault, I'm afraid. Still, I trust that you'll be able to pull it off with a bit of…'

"Luna!" Usagi interrupted her. The cat blinked, surprised, and Usagi blushed sheepishly. "Uh, sorry. But what I was trying to say was… um…" She looked back in the direction she'd been staring. "While I'm sure it's a useful skill and all, I… don't think I'll need it."

Luna blinked, and followed the girl's gaze down the road. Several hundred metres from where they were standing, past the closed stores with their hatches down and the nightclubs and bars whose signs were dimmed or completely dark, one edifice stood out like a sore thumb. Neon signs glowed on the three-storey structure, advertising to all and sundry that the Balmy House of Fortune was open for business. It was doing a roaring trade, too, with a milling crowd around the entrance and the sound of considerable activity emanating from within.

'…' said Luna. 'Or… or we could go there, yes,' she amended. 'Uh… good work on spotting it. Well done. Now, let's go.'

Usagi didn't move. After a moment's silence, she spoke in a small voice.

"There'll be another youma in there, won't there? Like the last one. The… the monster."

Luna looked up at her charge, who was biting her lip. Now that the enemy was in sight, she had gone very pale, and her breathing had sped up.

'… yes,' said Luna quietly.

"And… they'll probably be expecting me this time, since I killed the last one. Won't there?'

'… yes.'

"And... and there will be the smoke-things. Inside the people. But they can come out and... and I'll have to fight them too."

'Yes. You will. If they attack you before you can defeat their master.'

Another silence. Were those just raindrops from the light drizzle still falling, trickling down Usagi's face? Or were they tears?

"Luna," said Usagi, quietly. "I… I don't want to go. I'm scared." Luna winced at her tone of voice. There was no wailing, no over-the-top dramatics. Frankly, that would have been more reassuring than this… this quiet terror and pleading.

But if Usagi didn't do this…

'I know,' Luna sighed. 'I know, Usagi-chan, and I'm sorry. But there's nobody else. I've been looking, I promise – there are others, and I _will _find them for you. You do have allies out there who will help you. But right now, it's just you and me.' She felt Usagi slump, and wracked her mind for something to bolster the girl's failing courage. Inspiration struck.

'If it helps,' she remarked casually, 'Tuxedo Mask will probably show up if you're facing any real danger. But I'm not sure he'll be able to handle it by himself, and I'm certain that the people in there would be in more danger if he fought alone.'

Silence for a moment longer, and Luna felt the horrifying fear that maybe Usagi's nerve just wasn't up to this. But then the girl's shoulders squared as she took a deep breath and let it out in a weary sigh.

"Right then," she said firmly. The fear was still there, in her voice. But dampened down, suppressed by willpower and – Luna suspected – deliberately not thinking about what she was doing.

"In that case, I have a plan."

* * *

…


	6. 5: A Rigged Game!

******Arc Two - The Whims of Chance**

**Chapter Five - A Rigged Game! The Evil Youma Gambles on Success!**

'A plan, huh?' Luna hopped out of Usagi's bag onto a low wall and looked up at the bright edifice of the casino. It was an eyesore, with flashing neon signs that clashed horribly with one another, and the pulsing beat of loud music coming from within. 'Fine,' she said, 'let's hear it.'

Usagi didn't answer immediately. Instead, she pulled out the Transformation Pen and twirled it between her fingers speculatively as she thought. Luna raised an eyebrow.

'You're not going to transform into Sailor Moon?' she asked, mildly surprised.

"No, no yet." Usagi replied distractedly. "I need to check out the inside first. And do something about the…" she hesitated briefly, biting her lip, "… about the smoke-things. I was thinking of setting off the fire alarm. That would get everyone outside, except maybe the youma. And it would turn on the sprinklers, which would stop the smoke-things from spreading so much." She wrinkled her nose. "I don't suppose I can purify water?"

Luna shook her head. 'Imbuing a purification spell in something is complicated. _I'm _not sure how you would do that, so it's unlikely you'd be able to. You're not necessarily the right p... well, it might not even be something you can do without help. But it's a good plan anyway. The youma will still probably call its servants back in, though.'

"I know." Usagi shivered. "But… it should take them longer to get there and buy me time. And I hope the water will work against them, as long as it keeps going."

'Leave that to me. I'll make sure it doesn't shut off.'

Usagi shot her a grateful look, and appeared to reach a decision. "Okay then. Moon Power! Make me a pretty young gambler!"

Luna huffed in annoyance as the ribbons of soft light spread from the wand down Usagi's arm, wreathing her in white radiance as if she'd stepped into a shadow shaped from starlight. 'Do you always have to specify _pretty?_' she grouched. 'Honestly, it sounds entirely unprofessional.'

The light faded, revealing a rather older Usagi with dyed-green hair, wearing a tight miniskirt and jacket. Luna blinked, and then gave her a rather more disapproving look.

'Wait, _this _is your idea of pretty? You look like some kind of raver! That skirt is almost a belt! It's entirely unsuitable!'

"Good!" Usagi responded, ignoring the jibe at her taste. "That means I should blend in perfectly, right?" She whisked her hair back over one shoulder and put her hands on her hips, taking in the club. "How old are you, anyway, if you think this is unsuitable? Those girls over there are barely any older than I am! You're just a cat, not my mother" But the outburst of bravado was just a distraction. She drew in a long, deep breath and let it out in a rush, gathering her courage.

"_Right _then," she said, trying and failing to keep the shake out of her voice. "Lu-Luna? Stay close?"

Luna leapt down from her perch and brushed up against an ankle, purring quietly. 'Right beside you,' she promised, wishing she could remove the reason for that tremor in the young woman's voice.

"… thanks."

The inside of the casino was scarcely better than the outside, Usagi found. Whitewashed walls and a linoleum floor stretched out across the wide room that took up most of the ground floor of the building. It was split into sections, with walkways between the blocks of machines – slot machines over to her right, pool tables over in one of the far corners, tables for what looked like some sort of card game off to her right behind more tables for games she only vaguely recognised from television and movies. The place was full of people – men in rumpled office suits, youths clad in leather jackets and tattered jeans, women in off-the-shoulder dresses or figure-hugging slacks – all of them playing at the games, talking, drinking, smoking.

And overlaying it all was the stench of rot and darkness, completely unnoticed by the people who laughed and joked with one another, unable see the trap they were standing in.

'Usagi…' hissed Luna near-silently, a velvet shadow cloaked in the still-deeper shadow beneath a table. Usagi staggered towards it, half-falling into one of the seats. 'There's…'

"I know," she murmured back. "I can feel it. It's… _everywhere_."

And everywhere it was. She had felt it as a lurking infection in the smoke-ridden thralls earlier, but here it was overpowering. Dark energy puffed in phantom wisps from the dice as they bounced on the craps tables, it jangled in the counters of the slot machines as they spun, it coiled around the cards as they were dealt back and forth to be reshuffled. Usagi had to bring a hand up to her mouth; it felt like she was going to gag.

'Stay focused, Usagi,' warned Luna. 'And try to keep out of view of the cameras. You don't know who might be watching through them.'

"Mmm." She nodded anxiously, and shook herself out of the horrified stupor she'd been in. "Fire alarm, fire alarm… can you see a fire alarm?"

'No, not from here. I can't risk the cameras seeing me. You'll just have to look for one.'

A few seconds of careful observation, and Usagi spotted one, not far from the stairs. Pushing herself up from the table, she started towards it, circling around the larger groups of people and flinching at every shout that came from near her. She tried to keep her eyes on the ground, not wanting to draw anyone's attention.

She'd managed to get three quarters of the way there when an arm was slung around her waist, and she was pulled sideways into someone's leather jacket. A half-yelp, half-shriek escaped her, and she flailed around to get a look at her assailant. It was a man a few years older than the disguise form she was wearing, with stubble speckling his chin and a cigarette in his mouth. He was leaning against the end of one of the rows of slot machines, half perched, with a half-empty beer bottle on the unoccupied seat of the nearest one. Squeaking, Usagi tried to pull away, but his arm was clamped tight around her waist, not letting her move.

"Hey, babe," he slurred, eyes focusing considerably lower than her face, "lookin' for a good time?"

Usagi recoiled as far as she could. He stank of alcohol, but it was almost overpowered by the reek of the smoke-monster. With his hand all but touching her skin, she could _feel _the thing inside him, curled up in his heart like a parasite. The scent of corruption had a strong, bitter edge that she could only associate with burning metal, and which made her gag. If she threw up on him… well, at least that would probably make him go away, she thought with an edge of hysteria.

"N… no," she trembled. "No… time. I have to…" she tried to pull away again, an abortive movement prevented again by his grip. "P-please, let go of me! I have to go, I'm…"

"Babe, babe." He scowled at her, still slurring his words, obviously drunk. "Quit playin' hard to get, yeah? Jus' relax, an'…"

He brought his other hand up towards her chest, and she yelped and slapped it away. Hard. Then, while the adrenaline rush of outrage still blotted out the terror, she slapped him around the face as well, and peeled his arm off from where it had been edging downwards from her hip. But the slap only sent him back one step, and when he turned back to her his eyes were dark with drunken rage. Usagi paled and began to back away, raising her hands shakily as he advanced on her, her heart racing.

"Dumb _bitch_," he growled. "Learn your pla…"

And then he yelled, dropping to the ground as if a leg had been kicked out from under him. Which, Usagi realised, it had. Four long tears marked the denim of his jeans from his ankle to halfway up his shin, and blood was already staining the blue fabric from the deep gashes beneath them. The drunkard howled in pain, thrashing around on the floor and knocking several of the people playing slots off their chairs and down on top of him. Usagi quickly became the furthest thing from his mind as several of them objected violently, and out of the corner of her eye she caught a small black silhouette dissolving into the shadows between two of the slot machines.

"Luna," she whispered as she hurriedly put some distance between her and the growing commotion, "I take back everything I ever said about you being a meanie. Thank you."

Stumbling forward, she pretended to trip – well, okay, it wasn't entirely a pretence – and rammed an elbow forward into the glass panel of the fire alarm. The wailing tones broke out immediately, and Usagi held her breath for a moment, hoping desperately that it wouldn't just be ignored.

But her fears were unfounded. There was grumbling, there were a few angry yells and scuffles, but the crowds began to move towards the doors and the fire exits, retreating outside to the fire assembly points.

To the…

'Usagi, where are you going?' yelled Luna at her charge's retreating back. She gave chase, quickly catching up to the sprinting girl, who replied between pants as she ran.

"They're all… going to be… outside in one place," she explained. "Grouped together. I can get them all in one shot!"

Luna blinked, and revised her estimate of Usagi's tactical skill upwards again. 'That's good thinking. You remember how to purify tainted humans? Remember to put more power into it this time, you've got more targets. And the smoke-parasites are more insidious. The rest should die when you kill the youma, with any luck, or you'll be hunting them down for a while.'

"Uh huh. Got it."

'Good. Now get somewhere out of sight. Come on, this way.' They slipped outside, and Usagi followed Luna's lead in avoiding the milling crowds, creeping over to take refuge behind a van. 'Transform,' the cat whispered, 'and then try to hit as many of them as you can with the first shot. We don't have much time.'

"Right," Usagi agreed. Then hesitated. Luna watched her expectantly for a moment. And then another. And another.

'… Usagi… you do remember your transformation phrase, don't you?' she growled darkly.

"Yesyesyes!" the girl babbled hastily. "I was just… uh… preparing! Uh… it was… um… something… something like…" Her eyes flickered briefly, then widened as she remembered. Her hand went to the brooch over her heart, and she whispered the phrase triumphantly; "Make Up!"

Luna had to suppress the urge to bat the girl around the head for forgetting half of it anyway. But the transformation took. The ribbons of light flowed out from the jewelled brooch, enveloping her charge in the space between heartbeats, and when they faded…

… when they faded, it was Sailor Moon who opened her eyes again.

* * *

…

* * *

The crowd milled about in front of the building, already muttering mutinously. There didn't seem to be any sign of fire inside, and no alarms or sirens could be heard approaching. Some of the gamblers were already waving the alarm off as a hoax and calling for a move back indoors. Others were arguing with them, and more than a few people had peeled off the crowd and left in disgust.

All those still present, however, were distracted from the developing arguments when a voice rang through the street as if broadcast from every rooftop and window.

"Stop arguing with each other and being so violent! Gambling and drinking are vices in excess, and you're doing both of them! I am Sailor Moon, and in the name of the Moon, I'll purify you!"

Heads turned this way and that in confusion, until a flash of light caught their attention. Atop a car nearby she stood, hair-streamers blowing back in the wind, glaring at them with an expression of righteous judgement. Some of the assembled crowd recognised her from the papers; others were not of the reading persuasion. But regardless of whether they knew who she was, the crowd's response was almost universal.

Laughter.

The crowd gawped and jeered, pointing and peering at her. Ripples of laughter and hooted comments came from near the back, and she picked up on some of the threads of conversation going on.

"Hah, guys, check it out, there's some chick…"

"… hey, look, her skirt is blowin' in…"

"… what's she wearing, it looks…"

"… hear what she said, it was something like…"

"… old is she? And what's she…"

"… this some sort of entertainment thing or something? Cause it ain't all that…"

Temper flaring, Moon stamped hard, putting a rather large dent in the roof of the car she was standing on. "Hey!" she yelled. "Stop laughing at me! I'm a warrior of Love and Justice, and you're all possessed! This isn't a joke!"

"Sure we are, sweetheart," someone yelled mockingly, "and are you gonna make us fee- fe…" he trailed off into coughs, his taunting expression morphing into one of confusion, then pain, as wracking coughs shook his torso. Others were beginning to cough as well, like an epidemic spreading through the crowd fast enough to see. Moon's eyes widened as she saw the smoke beginning to curl out from the mouths of the first few to start. Grabbing for her tiara instinctively, she felt it morph into the disk in her hand. But… she couldn't throw it. Not at real people…

'Sailor Moon! Purify them! Like the others, last time!'

The reminder jolted her out of her hesitation, and she held the disk out in front of her like a shield. Most of the people were on the floor now, their faces screwed up in pain as the parasites inside them forced their way out. Moon glared at the wisps of smoke that were beginning to rise upwards, dragging their hosts with them.

"No you don't," she growled, and summoned up her anger at the horrible things. And… also some of the anger at the people they were riding, for taunting her like that, plus a little bit of righteous judgement at the things they'd been doing. That behaviour, that dark influence that had made them riot and fight and vandalise, needed to be _purged_. Commanding the silver light within, she found it easier to pull up this time, more responsive to her call. Almost like it wanted to be unleashed.

Moon was happy to oblige. She filled her heart with virtuous fury and channelled the emotion through the glowing disk her tiara had become. It shone like a searchlight, casting a beam of bright white light forward that washed over the whole street, glinting off metal and illuminating those exposed to it in an eerie radiance.

Under the unforgiving glow, the parasite-creatures screeched and twisted, writhing in pain as the smoke-stuff that made up their forms was scattered and swirled away. Moon kept up the pressure, kept the anger at what they had done to these people stoked bright and hot within her chest and let loose her passion in another blinding flash. The smoke-things were little more than wraiths by that point, all but dissolved by the sacred luminance, and the flash ripped what was left of them apart completely. In the face of the wave of magic, they simply ceased to be, undone completely, and a shuddering sigh ran through the prone people they had infected as they were released from their enthrallment.

Checking warily to make sure there wasn't anyone still standing, Moon lowered the tiara, and absently returned it to her forehead. She grinned, feeling rather proud of herself for that, and would probably have patted herself on the back had Luna not chosen that moment to break in with a sardonic comment.

'Very good, Sailor Moon, but don't forget – those were only the minions. The youma is still inside. And there may be others.'

"… ah," she gulped nervously. "Right. Yes." She paused briefly, remembering the last one. "… do I have to?"

Claws glinted in the light of the streetlamps above them.

"Okay yes ma'am Luna-sama, I'm going!" Moon still had no desire to feel those claws applied to her vulnerable ankles, and scrambled towards the door to the casino, carefully easing it open and slipping inside. She looked around cautiously, searching for any humanoid figures still in the large space.

'It's not down here,' Luna remarked, slipping past her. 'You'd probably feel it if it was. I certainly would. Hmm… upstairs, I think.'

"Right."

She advanced up the stairs slowly, cautiously, trying to feel forward for the youma lurking somewhere on the upper floor. The red emergency lighting painted deep frown-lines on her face. She couldn't hear anything, over the shrill noise of the fire alarm. Would Tuxedo Mask show up to save her if she got in trouble, she wondered? Maybe this time she could talk to him, or at least get a better look at him than last time. Or perhaps even…

"Gah!"

Moon dived back, hitting the floor shoulder-first as the dark _something _she'd barely seen flying at her smashed into the stairs where she'd been standing, punching a hole clean through the carpeted wood and throwing up splinters every which-way. She turned the motion into a roll to avoid the next one, and realised only halfway through it that she didn't actually know how to come out of a roll properly. With a yelp and a bruised back and tailbone, she landed hard in a sitting position next to a pachinko machine and ducked instinctively, pulling her tiara off in desperate panic.

The third blow slammed through the machine directly where her head had been, and she lashed out and upwards with the razor-edged glowing disk instinctively. She felt a brief resistance, then an angry scream from somewhere near the stairs. The long dark shape above her withdrew like a scalded hand, and she took the opportunity to scrabble around the machine and hide behind it. Pachinko balls fell out of the gaping hole with a series of tinkling clinks, pooling on the floor.

'Brat!' hissed a serpentine voice from the base of the stairs, audible even over the alarms. 'Come out of there now!' There was a reverb to the voice as it modulated strangely in anger. But no attack accompanied it, or any dark shape punching into her cover. Warily, she risked a peek through the gap, not wanting to poke her head out where it would be exposed.

She couldn't get a clear look, or see anything above the youma's chest. It seemed to be dressed in some sort of long, flowing robe, though, and from the way it was turning it wasn't quite sure where she was. It was trailing smoke behind it, venting it from the tips of its hair – gods, was that how it had been possessing people? And back to the matter at hand, had it not been watching as she'd scrambled behind the machine? Maybe it had been coming downstairs then – she was pretty sure it had attacked her from the upper landing. Speaking of which…

A dark tendril of something floated into view near its shoulders, and it took Moon a second or two to realise it was hair. It didn't move like hair, though. It was knotted and bunched into something that looked almost like a fist, and moved with purpose, deliberately. Moon couldn't help but stare. It could move its _hair?_ And attack with it hard enough to punch holes through sheet metal or the floor? She would need to take it by surprise.

"Moon Tiara," she whispered, hand going to her tiara and plucking it from her brow. It hummed in her grip, shifting again into the lethal ring that seemed to fit her hand like a glove. Glancing again through the hole and getting a read on its position, she took a deep breath, ignoring the noise.

Then, in a single fluid motion, she stood, aimed and threw.

"Action!"

As the attack hurtled through the air towards the youma, she got a good look at it for the first time. Its skin was a mottled scaly green, and its tongue seemed to be forked like a snake's. Black hair drifted around it as if it were underwater, in grasping tendrils and knotted fists. Even as she stood and threw, the slitted eyes focused on her and two tendrils shot out, lengthening and reshaping as they went until the ends were viciously sharp blades. More hair massed to deflect the tiara. It disintegrated under the assault, prompting a shriek of pain from the youma as a mere glancing touch incinerated the locks down to the scalp with a hissing sound and a scent of burnt oil. But it was enough to deflect the silver projectile off onto a curving course back to Moon's hand, stymied in its assault.

And fast as the flashing ring was, the bladed hair-tendrils were going to get there first. Moon screamed, trying to dodge sideways. Her foot came down on the pachinko balls and slid, whipping out from under her and knocking her off balance. With a loud crash, she toppled over again, hitting the floor prone just as the hair-limbs whistled through the space she had occupied. The youma hissed in irritation, stabbing down randomly behind the cover and advancing to regain sight of its prey. It hit nothing but the floor, as Moon crawled hastily on hands and knees into the rows of slot machines, then dragged herself back upright and ran along the rows as quietly as possible, bent low so as not to be seen.

'You can't hide forever, brat!' warned the youma. It was looking rather dishevelled, and there were prominent bald patches from the damage Usagi had done to it. There was a crash as it tore one of the machines loose with its hair and threw it aside. 'I'll find you sooner or later, and my lord will reward me when I bring him your head! Come out now, and I'll make it painless!'

"Liar!" retorted Moon, using the trick that had come naturally to make her voice ring out sourcelessly as if from everywhere. "You surrender, or I'll punish you for spreading all this mayhem and chaos!" She got a furious hiss in return, and another crash. It seemed that the youma was quite content to take the casino apart bit by bit to get at her, if it had to.

Crouching behind a row of fake potted plants that separated the slots machines from what looked like some sort of bar area; Moon panted quietly and tried to think of a plan. Attacking head-on had not worked. She wracked her brains for anything else she could try. Now would really be a _really good _time for Tuxedo Mask to show up, but… he was nowhere to be seen. Okay. Okay then. That was fine. She could handle this on her own. She could…

'Sailor Moon.'

… stifle a shriek, and then duck low, terrified, as the youma looked over in her direction. She found herself staring into the crimson eyes of her cat, and scowled.

"Where have you been?" she hissed. "I could have used some help!"

'Then you shouldn't have let its first attack separate us,' retorted Luna, entirely unsympathetic. 'And help was what I was about to offer. I can distract it, make it turn around. That'll give you one shot. Make sure you make good use of it.'

Moon's animosity vanished. "Okay!" she agreed. "I'll be ready!" She watched Luna nod gravely and slip off into the shadows, then turned her attention back to the youma, peeking through the plastic leaves of the potted plants at the reptilian monster breaking its way through the slot machines. It was headed roughly toward her, orienting on the quiet shriek she'd made.

"Moon Tiara," she whispered, readying her attack and getting ready to stand and hurl it. Another crash as the youma threw a machine in her general direction, landing short. It was using the things it ripped up as a weapon now, throwing them around to cover a wider area and try to flush her out. Moon held her breath tensely, willing Luna to make a move soon.

Something clattered on the other side of the room. A stool, knocked over? A pool cue pushed off its table? Moon didn't know and didn't care. All that mattered was that the youma swung around, wrenching a heavy console from where it was bolted to the floor and holding it above its head with two huge claw-like appendages of woven hair. Moon sprang up, bringing the tiara round in a fluid arc that sent it soaring towards the monster.

"Action!"

Yet somehow, impossibly, the youma reacted. It twisted round with shocking speed, even before she had finished speaking, and its slitted yellow eyes widened in fear at the blazing disk shooting towards it. It stepped back in terror, bringing down the machine in an attempt to block the tiara. Metal shrieked as it carved a glowing red-hot path through the cheap steel and plastic of the bulky mechanism, but it was enough for the youma to hurl the whole machine aside, tiara still trapped inside it, to crash down on the far side of the room.

It started smoking – real, genuine smoke, which seemed almost clean compared to the youma's filth, and which set off the smoke detectors for real. The sprinklers promptly turned on, showering entire room.

Moon clenched her fists tightly, water running down her face and leaving her hair sodden. But the tiara didn't come.

'Now…' growled the youma, leaving oily streaks on the ground where it stepped, 'nowhere left to run.' It grinned, revealing a row of sharp, metallic teeth. 'I'm going to enjoy this…'

All of its hair knotted together into two huge tendrils and shot forward. There were blades forming from the appendages, and claws, and barbed hooks and worse things still. Moon stood petrified, wide-eyed, unable to make a sound.

And then, a split-second before they hit her, something long and thin and glinting blurred across the tendrils a bare metre or so from the youma's face. They lost cohesion and fell to the floor, mere strands of hair once again, and the youma screamed louder and more harshly than any sound it had made so far, clutching at the severed locks and staggering back to crash into a roulette table.

"Those who spread corruption and vice, and seek to defile beauty…" said a voice. Sailor Moon knew that voice. Her heart leapt at hearing it once again, and she turned eagerly to its source. Somehow, the fire alarms had turned off. Just for him to speak.

Silhouetted against a window on the far side of the room, Tuxedo Mask held his cane in the pose he had brought it down in. The rod had extended enough to cross the room in a blink of an eye, and cut through the youma's reinforced hair as if it were a hot knife slicing through a rice ball. "… I cannot forgive such people," he continued in an ominous tone. "Sailor Moon. Are you hurt?"

"Tuxedo Mask!" Moon's eyes shone with happiness, and she beamed at her tall, dark-clad saviour. "No, I'm fine! Thank you so much!"

He nodded, lips quirking in a faint smile beneath the half-mask as he strolled forward, pausing to pick her tiara out from the wreckage of the machine that was strewn around it. "Then allow me to return your tiara, fair Moon, along with the best of wishes."

Moon's heart fluttered at the eloquent speech. The youma was less impressed. Clawing itself upright, its remaining hair shrivelled an ugly greyish-white from where Tuxedo Mask's cane had sliced through it, the monster screeched at him.

'Insolent whelp!' it roared hatefully, 'You… you dare cut my beautiful hair! Maim me! I'll kill you, you brat!'

It lunged at him, claws extending, reptilian face a mask of hatred. But its charge was uncoordinated and clumsy, and Moon could see the faint smirk that crossed the man's face as it came at him. His cane whipped out again, and her eyes widened as a clawed hand went flying to disintegrate against a wall. Even as the beast screamed, the black-clad man cut again, and the youma was comprehensively disarmed.

Wailing in pain, grey already seeping across its wretched face, the monster collapsed to its knees. The masked man took a single step back, drawing back his arm. Usagi squeezed her eyes shut hastily, and heard a quick patter of footsteps over the wailing, followed by the faint whistle of the cane and a thump as a body hit the floor, dissolving into dust as it went. The wailing cut off abruptly. Less than a second later, there was another, fainter thump, accompanied by a pattering sound. Then nothing but the muffled sounds of the city from outside.

Tentatively, she risked opening her eyes. Tuxedo Mask stood before her, offering her tiara back. She blushed, accepting it and returning it to her forehead, and peered round him at the youma. There was a largeish pile of dust on the floor, and a smaller amount sprayed out several metres beyond it. Moon winced as she put together what had happened.

"Th… thank you," she stuttered. He bowed low, making her blush again. Then he turned to leave, his cape billowing as he walked to the door. Blinking at the abrupt departure, she gathered her wits enough to hastily call after him, "wait! Who are…"

But he was gone, vanished into the night. She pouted, and looked around for Luna, who she found sniffing at the dust that was left of the youma and frowning. After a moment, she looked up at Sailor Moon.

'Hmm,' she said quietly. 'Well, anyway. That wasn't too bad. But you still need to train more. And we need to be out of here soon, before the police show up. See if there were any other smoke-minions quickly, with the sensing technique, and then we can be off.

* * *

…

* * *

Walking back to the shrine, Usagi's complaints formed a backdrop that Luna mostly ignored as she paced along beside the teenager, occupied with her own thoughts.

"… should have asked him first! Though why'd he even run off so fast, anyway? Oh, do you think he likes me? And he's shy of being around me because I'm so beautiful… hee!" Usagi spun around giddily, hugging herself. "His voice is really dreamy when he does speak, too… okay! I have to make him more comfortable with being close to me! Then he'll get brave enough to ask me out on a date, and then be my boyfriend, and then…"

'He could be an enemy, you know,' Luna pointed out.

"What?!" Usagi glared at her. "What are you talking about? He's saved my life! Twice!"

'Which doesn't necessarily preclude him being an enemy.' Luna jumped up onto a fence to stare her charge in the eyes. 'Listen to me very carefully, Usagi. Just because people are helping you doesn't mean they're on the same side as you, or that they don't have their own goals. Until we know what he's doing and how and why he's doing it, we have to assume that he may have hidden motives.'

Usagi looked at her rebelliously. "Put like that, I shouldn't trust _you_," she objected. "You might have hidden motives! I don't know why you're helping me either!" She paused. "Uh… well… apart from fighting the youma, I guess. That probably counts as a motive. But still!"

'…' said Luna, her tail twitching slightly as she looked away. '… alright, fine. Maybe treating him as a potential enemy is an overreaction. Just… try to keep a clear head where he's concerned? As a favour? To me?'

"… fine." Usagi blinked as Luna nodded and began to move off down a side road. "Wait… aren't you coming back to the shrine with me?"

The cat looked back over her shoulder. 'No, if I go back there I'm just going to get mobbed again.' Pausing, Luna turned back and frowned at Usagi. 'Speaking of which, I'm still not happy about this job you've decided to volunteer for. You don't have time for things like that, you have a duty!'

"You're the one telling me I need to be more responsible!" Usagi shot back. "A job will teach me about that, won't it? And it's only a part-time one!"

'If that were all, I wouldn't be so worried, but a job somewhere I can't _go_, somewhere with territorial spirits who…' Luna trailed off, and thought for a moment. '… ah.' Reaching a conclusion, she looked up at Usagi knowingly. The girl shifted, refusing to meet her eye. 'I see. That's why, isn't it?'

"I don't…" Usagi mumbled, and looked down guiltily. "I just… it would be nice to have somewhere this whole Sailor Moon thing… can't touch me. You know? Somewhere away from it all, just sometimes."

Luna sighed. 'I suppose it is _safe_, given the protections there…'

"I promise that if there's a real emergency I'll come right away!" Usagi interjected, jumping at the slight wavering of Luna's position. "Uh… hmm. Though I'm not sure… maybe you could call my mobile?"

Few animals have a glare both as eloquent and dismissive as a cat's. Luna demonstrated hers, and Usagi flushed in embarrassment. "I mean… um…"

'I'll get you a communicator,' Luna sighed. 'It's about time you had one, anyway. And… I'll allow the part-time job. For now.'

"Yay!" Usagi cheered, bouncing up and down happily. "I knew you'd come around once…"

'But,' Luna interjected, 'I'm still not going to help you in your next battle.'

"Wh-what?" Usagi stuttered, confused. Luna might be annoyed over her spontaneity in making the decision, and she might disapprove of her working in the shrine, but compromising the fight against the youma because of it? That seemed completely contradictory to everything she knew about her feline advisor. "Why not?"

'Because your next battle, once you get back to that shrine and then return home tomorrow morning, is going to be explaining to your mother why you were out late at night half a ward away. Not to mention how you picked up a part-time job in the process.'

… oh. Right. That. She'd forgotten about that. Yes, explaining all of this to Mama, along with the state of her school uniform and… and how she'd been breaking her grounding to go out in the first place… was going to be… um…

"… ahhhh! Luna! You're mean! Help me! No, come back! Luna! _Luna!_"

And as Luna flitted away into the shadows, Usagi's protesting wails rose up into the night behind her once again.

* * *

…


	7. 6: Caught in a Cruel Trap!

******Arc Three - Moonrise**

**Chapter Six - Caught in a Cruel Trap! Can Usagi Escape her Torment?  
**

Cold blue eyes narrowed in a dark place. Dim violet witch-fires flickered from the ceiling and the floor alike, casting mad shadows across the face of a lounging figure and the iron statues which stood locked in pained poses around him.

"Two youma." The man's voice was low and harsh. "_Two_. Two operations, disrupted. Two serfs, wasted. Two acts of _defiance _gone unpunished. This _cannot _be allowed to stand."

He stood abruptly; the craggy seat of rock that he had been lounging on vanishing into the shadows behind him with an idle wave of his hand. In this place, surroundings were something you brought with you. The pitch-black shadows that stretched away to infinity in every direction spoke volumes as to the man's mood.

He glared into the dark for a moment longer, then shook his head. His long, elegant fingers formed a short series of mudras, lean hands moving effortlessly through the shapes. Finishing, he spoke a word that sent ripples of uneasy motion through the murky curtains of his surroundings and motioned sharply in front of him, as if flicking water off his hands and onto the floor. And indeed, something seemed to strike the floor – barely distinguishable as a flat black plane amidst slightly lighter shades. A circle about a metre across wavered slightly, then fountained upwards in a spout of… something, before it fell away to leave a crouching, vaguely feminine figure.

The newcomer was bald, save for a mane of pale, bushy hair that sprouted from the back of its head, and wore a tattered robe that left one smooth leg entirely free. The garment seemed to be worn more as an absent-minded attempt at decoration than any real need for coverage. More than that, though, the figure _gleamed_, even in the dim light of this murky place. Its skin was a blueish-green crystal that nonetheless moved as smoothly as more natural flesh. The creature half-rose from its crouched position and looked around in confusion and a certain amount of queasiness from the sudden summoning. It quickly caught sight of the man, and its eyes widened.

'M-my lord Jadeite!' it stammered. 'I- my apologies!' It knelt humbly, prostrating itself in front of him. 'How may I serve?'

The man stood at a slight angle to it, staring off into the shadows. He didn't look directly at the servant he had summoned. He didn't need to.

"There have been complications, Earth-side," he stated coldly. "Two youma have been killed, with no indication of what killed them. The city is…" he frowned, "… Tokyo." His hand strayed to the hilt of his sword, tapping against the antique metal in annoyance. "Take a hand-picked squad. Find this… annoyance. Make an example of it. Bring me back its head." He paused, considering. "And if you can keep the head alive… well, that would merely be an added amusement."

Duc Jadeite, General of the Pacific Plate, Fourth Commander of the Dark Kingdom, turned a hard eye on the youma that knelt before him.

"Do not return until this act of defiance has been crushed," he finished. His cold tones left no doubt as to what would happen if he was disobeyed. "Chevalier Derella. You have your orders. Go."

The youma knew her master. She didn't waste a second in leaving his presence, heading off to pick a group of lesser spirits to accompany her on her mission.

Left alone in the open space, Jadeite breathed out slowly, his breath stirring the currents of shade into twisting, curling wisps. A mere youma was not a formidable opponent, that was true, he reflected. The ones he had assigned to the operations that had been disrupted were nothing special, at least in the field of the martial arts. And yet…

… and yet finding them at all should have been the hard part. And even taking their relative weakness into account, to kill them so quickly and so cleanly that they were unable to escape or even get word out…

Well. It spoke of a swift and deadly opponent. He was facing someone perceptive and intelligent enough to pick out his serfs from their disguises, as well as dangerous and stealthy enough to kill them with such speed and skill that they weren't even able to call for help. Murderous, precise, efficient. Rather admirable, all in all, and it was a shame such an effective opponent was on the other side to him. He would quite like to know who this man who dared oppose him was.

The youma noble he had tasked to the annoyance should be capable of dealing with him. Still, he couldn't help but wonder about the ruthless, dedicated mortal that must be opposing him. If he evaded this trap, perhaps Jadeite would deign to set foot on Earth again and take his head personally, as a compliment to his skill.

Whoever he was, he had to know that his opening assault wouldn't go unanswered. A faint smirk curled the corners of Jadeite's mouth as he imagined what frantic preparations the mortal must be working on even now…

* * *

…

* * *

"Usagi!"

The shout was an augur to the ears, a cruel, clawed hand ripping away the warm, comfortable blanket of sleep – and also the warm comfortable blanket of the bed – to drag its crying, thrashing victim into the painful purgatory of the waking world.

Throwing the curtains open to cast agonisingly direct sunlight onto the unprepared face of the innocent sleeper was just the sadistic icing on a cake made entirely of _raw agony_.

"Mgghhhh!" Usagi whimpered, reaching desperately for covers that were no longer there while at the same time trying to shield herself from the merciless rays of bright light. The result was that neither attempt was particularly successful, and she was slowly and excruciatingly winched into full wakefulness, regardless of her wishes to the contrary. "Nngaaah!"

Her mother was completely and utterly unmoved by her protests, however. When Usagi eventually opened her eyes and sat up blearily, she had already neatly folded the covers to allow the bed to air, and was pinning her daughter with a beady eye, hands on hips. A muzzy-headed glance over at her bedside clock – which took a few seconds to decipher despite the thing being digital – told Usagi it was a little before half past six in the morning.

She hadn't been previously aware that such a time existed, except academically. She had always been happy to know there had to theoretically be such hours or else the clock would have a large gap in it, but the two of them had got on fine for years without ever meeting. To experience such an hour in person was a profoundly unwelcome shock.

Giving her mother a look of pure, tortured betrayal, she struggled for words to describe her protest at this ordeal. It wasn't easy. The sheer magnitude of the sin defied any attempt to pin it down. Eventually she gave up, and opted to just say the first thing that came to mind.

"… morning!" she sputtered in horror. "Weekend! Sleep-in!"

"Yes," Ikuko agreed mercilessly, "it is the morning. Of a beautiful weekend day. And if you'll look at your clock again, you'll notice that you have less than half an hour before you need to be at Hino-san's shrine for your first proper weekend work day." She hauled Usagi upright, and then bent with surprisingly tenderness to kiss her on the forehead. "Usagi, sweetheart," she murmured, "I'm _proud _that you're doing this. Perhaps not so proud of how you _got _the job, but I do think the responsibility will do you a world of good, and I'm glad you volunteered for it."

She straightened up again, smiling, as Usagi blinked in surprise. Surprise and the lingering bleariness of sleep. "And because I love you," she continued, "I'm going to stop you dropping out through laziness. I will show you no more mercy than I showed you when I made sure you passed the tests to get into a good high school! This will look good on your university applications! Should you let this opportunity go to waste because you couldn't be bothered, I will punish you! Now out! Go! Get dressed and showered and fed, you only have half an hour to get there! Your father will drive you."

"Dad's awake?" Usagi managed, dubiously. Ikuko cocked her head, listening carefully.

"Not yet," she admitted, "but he will be. Now go! Shoo! Oh, and Usagi? Could you pick me up some more hair dye on your way back?" She fingered a blue curl. "I think my roots are starting to show."

"Uh…" Usagi trawled her memory. "That's… Number 67, right? Royal Blue?" Mentally, she rolled her eyes. It wasn't even like blue was her mother's natural colour, she was just following the fashion trend for it because it was rare and exotic. It was embarrassing to watch, honestly – if she had to dye it, she could at least dye it the colour it had been before it had started to go white. And she hadn't needed to blame Usagi for that, either. Feeling virtuous, Usagi silently she promised herself that she would never stoop so low as to let her life be dictated by such childish whims.

Ikuko sighed. "Royal Blue is #68, Usagi, but at least you remembered the name. Phone me if you can't remember before you buy anything, okay? Now, scoot. You don't want to be late to meet Hino-san, do you?"

"… eek."

And so, after a somewhat frantic twenty minutes in which Usagi managed to shower, dress and grab a bento and a snack to eat on the way, she found herself back at Hikawa Shrine, dropped off by a rather tired-looking father. She climed off the back of his moped, and was greeted by a sweet and understanding voice, welcoming her to the sacred sanctuary in warm, dulcet tones.

"You're late!"

"I am not!" Usagi objected, pouting at Rei and holding her watch up like a talisman to ward off the miko's wrath. "Look, see! It's still…" she checked, "seven minutes to!"

Rei put her hands on her hips, glaring. "And when I said 'we start at seven', I meant we _start _at seven!" she snapped. "_Obviously_, I meant that you should arrive here with some time to spare… urgh. Just get inside and get changed quickly, we open at nine. And I want to go over the honden completely before then." She flapped her hands, motioning Usagi inside. "Go, go! Shoo! And call me if you get stuck putting the robes on again, I'm not having you roll around struggling for another ten minutes!"

Usagi retreated into the shrine grumbling. She'd only got stuck once, and that hadn't been _her _fault. It was the first time she'd ever put the garments on without help! And she'd forgotten where all the bits were meant to go, and got confused. It was fine for _Rei _to get mad, she made it look easy, she'd only been wearing them since she was _six_…

After three or four minutes of shedding and donning clothing with this muttering as an accompaniment, Usagi the shrine maiden emerged from the changing room she'd ducked into, her casual clothes loosely folded and stuffed into the backpack she'd brought. She was immediately set upon by her priestly drill instructor, who had been waiting outside the door impatiently, and who bossily adjusted several parts of Usagi's outfit before she was satisfied.

Actually being a shrine maiden, Usagi had found, was… dull. Well, no. It wasn't _dull _– if nothing else, Rei's company and sharp tongue made it a constant testing ground, where she had to step carefully or risk getting burnt. And the sheer amount of different things they did was mind-boggling. But a lot of the work, especially the behind-the-scenes stuff that didn't involve visitors, was fairly monotonous.

Like now, cleaning the sanctuary where the kami was enshrined, sweeping the floor, dusting everywhere else, polishing every surface and making a short ritual prayer at the end. The Hikawa Shrine was one of a chain of daughter shrines to the great one in Saitama; all dedicated dwelling places of Susano-o, and apparently it was time to give that dwelling place another round of attention.

It wasn't exactly glamorous work, to say the least. Still, Usagi knew that moaning would get her nowhere, and she _was _getting paid for this. So she sucked it up and let her mind wander as she worked along at a fair pace, though she couldn't help but notice that Rei's progress was considerably quicker than her own.

Maybe 'unexpected' was a better word for it. Yes. A lot about the shrine was unexpected. Rei, obviously. Usagi still hadn't worked the girl out completely. And Grandpa Hino… well, he was… uh… eccentric, to say the least.

And then there were the crows.

She could see a few now, through the open door. One or two had hopped inside the shrine slightly, though they were staying out of the honden itself. Usagi kept a wary eye on them. She could sense the two spirits when she was looking for them, once Luna had told her they were there. They seemed to be absent today. Despite the fact that she could sense them, though, the converse didn't seem to be true. Either her alter-ego was _very _well hidden or they didn't care about it, because apart from staring at her in the slightly mad, slightly malevolent, slightly-too-intelligent way that all of the crows did, they didn't appear to regard her as interesting unless she had food for them.

One of them – she was fairly sure it was the one that Rei called Phobos – had landed on her head once, after school on Wednesday. But that was mostly to steal her sandwich. Which it had managed successfully, leading to ten increasingly-frustrating minutes chasing it around as it had fluttered from perch to perch with her sandwich in its beak, croaking at her in mocking laughter.

None of the crows had tried anything similar with Rei, and in fact the normal ones tended to give her a wide berth unless she was talking to them. Usagi had a feeling that there may have been one too many singed tail feathers, years ago. Or possibly crows didn't enjoy being shouted at by the dark-haired girl any more than she did.

"Usagi! You're slacking!" Rei broke in, snapping the blonde girl out of her thoughts. Whipping her head round, she found the taller girl engaged in busily polishing the metal torch-holders, and stared incredulously. Did the girl have eyes in the back of her head?

"Yes, I can tell," said Rei, warningly, and Usagi hurriedly got back to work scrubbing the floor, grumbling once again. How did she _always know?_

"And don't do a half-hearted job, either! I want that floor to sparkle!"

* * *

…

* * *

"Oh, wow."

The quiet click of a mobile phone camera was audible over the low hum of chatter from the crows, who were arguing over something again in the distance. "Ha hah. Usagi Tsukino, responsible shrine maiden. This I _had _to come and see for myself."

Usagi stoically finished ordering the good luck charms before turning to give Naru the stink-eye. "What are you doing here?" she demanded. "Isn't it a little out of your way?"

Her irritation only made the redhead's smirk widen. "I told you," she said, "I had to see this for myself. Heh…" she broke off for a moment, giggling. "Oh man, I imagined it when you told me, but the reality is so much better. This is _hilarious_."

"Hilariously inept, maybe," Rei commented, ducking out from inside the shrine and inserting herself into the conversation. "Who's this?"

"Ah!" Usagi stepped out of the way, allowing the two girls to size each other up. "Rei, this is Naru-chan… ah, Naru Osaka, my best friend. And Naru, this is R…" she paused, tossing a mischievous glance at Rei, "… Rei-_senpai_, my evil perfectionist slave-dri- ahh!" She scuttled behind Naru smartly, just barely avoiding a rap with the broom Rei was carrying, and using her friend as a human shield to avoid any more retaliation.

"Hmmph," sniffed the miko, bringing the improvised weapon back to rest against her shoulder and glancing around. There was one couple wandering arm-in-arm around the grounds of the shrine, and a small group of schoolgirls clustered around her grandfather, who was either selling them something or trying to flirt. Or, more likely, both. She rolled her eyes, but opted to leave him to it until she heard raised voices.

"It's Rei Hino," she said, leaning on one of the pillars that stood sentinel at the shrine's entrance. "So. Did you come here for any other reason, or was it just to laugh at my new ball and chain?

"… hey!" Usagi squeaked, taken off-guard at this sudden turn of the conversation against her. "I'm not… you don't… what's that supposed to mean?!"

"If you have to ask…" sighed Rei, rolling her eyes. Turning so that Usagi couldn't see, she shot Naru a quick grin and a wink. Naru snickered, entirely willing to play along.

"Is she that bad?" she asked sadly, with a disappointed look at her friend, who glared right back at her. Or at least attempted to. It came off as more of a betrayed pout.

Entirely mindful of Usagi's indignant glare, as well as the subtle underlayer of nervousness beneath it, Rei let the question hang in the air for a moment, pondering. She shook her hair back out of her face as she thought, silky black locks cascading down the back of her robes. "Well, while I'm sure she's been doing _her _best," she replied seriously, "I'm afraid…"

Usagi's breath hitched, and Rei's face cracked into a wicked smirk. "Heh. Gotcha. No, she's been doing acceptably, I suppose. Needs a bit of prodding – well, a _lot _of prodding, but at least I can set her doing something and not have to worry about her trying to take the initiative and screwing something else up the instant I take my eyes off her."

"You… argh! Meanie!" Usagi yelled, waving her arms in annoyance at the fake-out. Almost as quickly as the outrage came, it left again, replaced by a faint blush. "Wait… you mean it? I'm doing good?"

Rei shot a slanted glance at her. "You are doing _acceptably_," she corrected. "Somewhat better than most of the girls who've tried their hands at this, at least. But don't let it go to your head. Do you understand? I still want to see improvement from you! Like there! The charms are crooked!"

"So mean…"

"You two are a perfect comedy act, really," Naru remarked. "But Hino-san was right, I did come here for another reason. You've got lunch break coming up soon, right?"

Usagi glanced at Rei, who in turn glanced down at her watch. "Hmm," she said. "You should have brought lunch with… no, of course you didn't remember something like that. Well, it's only half past twelve, but alright, I'll let you off. We don't have many people, anyway. I can handle things as long as you get back within an hour or so. And if you're late, you're staying later!"

"Awesome!" cheered Naru. "In that case, Usagi, wanna go out to grab something? Because I have a surprise for you."

"Oh yeah?" Usagi was already divesting herself of various miscellaneous bits and pieces she was carrying. "What's that, then? A homework guide?" She looked up hopefully, ignoring Rei's disapproving sniff.

Naru's grin was smug excitement incarnate. "Even better," she crowed. "You know that show that's been advertised lately? The concert, over in Juuban Park, with Mikan Shiratori? Well, Rui-neesan got me _these_."

Usagi's eyes widened in awe as Naru flicked two strips of paper out, held between her fingers. "Are those…" she whispered, stretching a hand out as if to confirm that they were real, not some ephemeral illusion made to mock her.

Her friend nodded, smirking all the wider. "Two tickets, courtesy of Rui. Near the front, too. She was going to take me, but she realised she misread the weeks and she has a tournament then. So she just gave me both and told me to find a friend to take. _Man_, I'm gonna have to find a way to thank her for this."

"A concert?" Rei raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "I hadn't heard of this. What is it?"

"… wait, what?" Naru stared at her blankly. "You… you seriously haven't heard of it? Mikan's Summer Concert, right here in Juuban?" She paused. "Well, okay, not _here_, but…"

Rei shrugged. "I may have heard something. But it's the middle of summer. There are dozens of concerts around this time of year. And my school is only on the edge of Juuban… I suppose I must simply have missed it. Hmm. 'Mikan Shiratori' rings a bell, though. Where have I heard that before?"

"Oh, Mikan is awesome!" Usagi beamed. "She's really pretty, too! She was a student at Juuban High School a few years back! Scholarship, I think, for music. She got scouted by a talent agent right after graduating high school, and now she's a pop idol!" She clasped her hands to her chest, adopting a dreamy expression. "Ah, I wish I could be so lucky… it's every girl's dream for that to happen!"

Naru was looking similarly misty-eyed. Rei was rather less affected. She sniffed dismissively. "If she got a scholarship for music, she must have worked hard and practiced for it. Which means that the same isn't likely to happen for you," she stated bluntly, bursting Usagi's bubble with an almost audible 'pop'. Then she frowned as something occurred to her. "How do you even know all that, anyway? Wouldn't she have been… let me see… three years older than you? At least?"

Usagi shrugged. "Three and a half, actually. But I was in junior high at the same time, and I saw her a few times in the hallways. I pick things up easily, I guess. Besides, isn't it a really cool story?" She paused, then whined resentfully as she belatedly processed the backhanded insult. "Hey! I work hard, too!" She lowered her voice to a grumble, and added, "you and Mama make sure of that. Cruel, imperious slave-drivers."

Rei favoured her with an exasperated look and an eyeroll. "If you put half… no, a _tenth _of the effort you put into socialising and slacking off into just getting the work done, you'd probably be a straight-A student," she said frankly. "It's not like it's that hard, if you put your mind to it."

Two expressions of uncomprehending disbelief met her statement, giving the distinct (and accurate) impression that both girls thought she was crazy for even suggesting such a thing. She rolled her eyes again and waved them off. "Fine, never mind. Go off and have lunch with Osaka-san. But be back by half past one! And don't get those robes dirty, or you're washing them!"

* * *

…

* * *

"… Naru-chan?"

"Huh?" Naru started, looking up from the miso soup she had been staring at and into the wide, concerned blue eyes of her best friend. They sat across from one another in a cozy restaurant booth that shielded them from most of the other customers, nestled up beside a long frosted-glass window. "Oh, hey, Usagi. Sorry, I was miles away. What were you saying?"

Usagi didn't answer immediately, but scrutinised her for a few more seconds with a worried look. "I've been trying to get your attention for almost a minute," she eventually said. "You were… Naru, are you okay? You've been zoning out like that a lot, lately. Ever since…"

She trailed off, looking down at her own meal awkwardly. The unspoken end to the question hung in the air between them like a spectre, filling the silence.

"… yeah," said Naru, eventually. "Yeah, I'm fine. You don't need to worry so much, 'sagi-chan. I won't pretend I'm not… that it didn't shake me up a bit, or that I haven't had some bad dreams about it. But I'm okay, really."

Usagi gave her a searching look for a few moments longer, but seemed to be satisfied with what she saw, as she nodded grudgingly. "Okay, I guess…" she said. "But… you know you can talk to me, right? About anything. I'll listen, I promise."

"I know, Usagi." Impulsively, Naru shifted around the booth to give Usagi a hug. "Thanks. I guess… I have kind of been out of sorts, haven't I? It was just a bit of a shock, finding out that things… I mean, that people could do that sort of thing, attacking people like that." She smiled crookedly. "Actually, I did have another reason to go to your shrine, come to think of it. I might walk you back and pick up some of those ward-off-evil talismans. Just in case, you know?"

Usagi opened her mouth to speak, hesitantly. But she couldn't find the right words, nothing that would comfort Naru without making it obvious that she knew more than she should. So she closed her mouth again, and hugged her friend back, nodding firmly.

After a few seconds, Naru spoke again, sounding a little less shaky. "Though," she added, never one to miss a jibe, "I think I'll get one of the ones your friend did, if it's all the same to you. I'm not sure I trust your… hey, quit it! You can't start poking me after being all comforting, that's cheating!"

"Grr… insulting me so suddenly, and ganging up with Rei-senpai!" Usagi riposted, grinning despite herself at the resurgence of Naru's spirit, even if it was being channelled into teasing her. "You deserve it! You're both meanies! Why, I should…"

"Hey!" a new voice broke in. Usagi froze, her eyes widening. Oh no. No, no, no. It _couldn't _be, the fates were simply not that cruel. And wasn't she a shrine maiden now? What wicked, spiteful spirits were choosing her as a target for their mean japes and pranks to have this kind of thing happen?

"I don't know if you've noticed," continued the voice, "but other people are trying to eat here, so if you could keep it…" It trailed off, just as Usagi turned around and confirmed her worst fears. Just as she'd dreaded, leaning around the side of their booth with his brow creased in annoyance, was…

"_Meatball head?_"

"Jackass!"

Naru briefly forgotten, the pair glared at one another for a moment, before the man's eyes slid to what she was wearing and he appeared to take in her robes for the first time. His eyes widened, and he brought a hand up to his mouth, choking. If one was very, very generous, they could perhaps have assumed that something he had been eating had gone down the wrong pipe.

Usagi was not feeling generous.

"Stop laughing at me!" she snapped at him, shooting to her feet and taking the offensive. "What are you even doing here? _I'm _having lunch here, go away!"

"Sorry odangos," he smirked, "but this is a public restaurant. I'm as entitled to be here as you are, which you'd probably have figured out for yourself if you were thinking straight. But given what you're wearing, I'm guessing you're not. What got into your head to make you play at being a shrine maiden?"

"I'm not _playing _at being a shrine maiden, jerk-face, I _am _a shrine maiden!" the blonde retorted angrily, her fists clenched by her sides.

That made his eyebrows raise. "You are? Really? Okay, I take it back. What was whoever employed you thinking? Are you using your usual grace and poise to polish the floor with your face?"

"Rrrgh! You're such a jerk!" Usagi blinked suddenly as a thought struck her. "Wait… you haven't been gambling lately, have you?" She narrowed her eyes at him as he blinked in confusion, trying to reach out with her senses as Luna had taught her. "Maybe you're possessed by something, and that's why you're so mean all the time!" Scrabbling in her haori pocket for an ofuda, she glared at her nemesis as he snorted.

"Shut up! I'll purify you, and then you'll…"

"Ah, Usagi? And… whoever you are?" Naru interrupted. "Fun though this is to watch… some of the staff are looking over at us. Maybe keep it down? Or at least take this outside." She grinned. "I mean, that's where street theatre's meant to go, right?"

"Ahh! No fair, Naru!" Usagi cried, but ceded to wisdom and reluctantly sat back down. "Fine," she sighed. "I'll be quiet as long as _he _goes away and leaves… us… alone…" What started as another glare at the man slipped downwards and became a look of horror.

"W-wait… are those… no!" Usagi's voice rose abruptly again, and she pointed at the slips of paper poking out of his jacket pocket. "Those can't be… be…"

"Huh?" He looked down, pulling the slips out. "Oh, these? I don't know what you're complaining about, they're just tickets to…"

"Nooooo!" Usagi moaned. "No fair, no way, I was already going to Mikan's concert with Naru! You… you're like my personal bogeyman! Evil! How will I be able to enjoy it now, knowing that you're there?"

The man started to reply, but a voice from the direction he'd leaned in from called over to them, drawing his attention. Nodding and waving to them, he turned back to the girls.

"Well, it's been fun, but I've got a meal to get back to," he said with a disarming grin, turning to leave. Looking back over his shoulder as something occurred to him, he added, "Oh, odangos, what shrine do you work at? I might see if I can drop by some time. Maybe donate something to make up for them having to put up with you."

Showing remarkable foresight, Naru lunged around the booth and caught Usagi around the waist as she lunged forward with murder in her eyes. "Ignore him, ignore him, ignore him," she sang, until the girl had calmed down somewhat, and only let go once the man was safely out of sight again.

"Wow," she breathed, relaxing and sliding back to her side of the booth. "That was the jerk you keep complaining about? You told me you two don't get along, but… wow. I didn't realise you rubbed each other the wrong way that much. I haven't seen you so mad since... well, ever."

Usagi just growled, and Naru diplomatically changed tact. "Well, look at it this way. There are gonna be… what, a thousand people at this concert? Maybe two. The chances of you running into him there are basically zilch, right?

"… I guess," Usagi conceded, with ill temper. "But I'm still not looking forward to it as much as I was, now that I know that he's going too." She pouted. "He'll be using his evil psychic aura of meanness to leech away my fun!"

* * *

…

* * *

Across town, the singer and pop idol in question wasn't looking forward to her upcoming concert at all. In fact, she wasn't looking forward to much of anything. Mikan Shiratori's last few struggles stilled as the translucent turquoise liquid hardened into glass around her, encasing her in her bathtub in a crystalline prison.

The tall, bald figure that had entered through her window waited for a few moments to ensure that her unconscious body didn't react badly to its new cage. If she were to die, this would have become a pointless exercise. But after only a short period of adjustment, the cool, clear hum from the coffin resonated through her glassy body, and she could feel her prey's slow breathing. The glass would keep the girl slumbering for as long as Derella had use for her.

And she could think of plenty of uses.

A cruel smile slipped across the youma's gleaming lips as her gleaming skin suddenly dulled and she shed her tattered robe. She shrunk, her long limbs shortening as her mane of hair crawled back up to cover her skull. Her chest thinned, her colour shifted, and her polished, crystal body became softer, warmer. Livelier.

A few seconds later, it was done. A clone of Mikan Shiratori stood naked on the bathroom tiles, staring down at her body double, encased in turquoise glass. The cruel smirk still flitted across her lips, though on her new face it looked strange, almost inhuman. And there were other differences, too. The new one was taller, prettier. Her skin was smooth and flawless, her eyes a touch more vivid, her hair fell naturally into stylish ringlets.

She turned, briskly, to the lurking shapes that had filtered into the room behind her.

"I will handle the main operation as far as energy-gathering goes," she stated, caressing the words with her new voice like a gourmet tasting a new delicacy. Her smirk widened. "But I do not think that our troublemaker should get the chance to interfere with it. Scout the area around the previous attacks. Find me somewhere isolated, somewhere we can set up a base. Close enough to human places that we can still attack them, though. There's no real need to worry about more than cursory secrecy, we want to be found." She flapped her hands at the lesser youma. "The one who presents me with the attacker's head will be granted a domain of their own," she added, to sudden attention from her underlings. "And perhaps a minor title."

She glanced back at the motionless form encased in the bathtub and grinned, the corners of her mouth pulling back in a snarl to reveal her sparkling white teeth. "We're going to send our friend an _invitation_," she purred.

* * *

…


	8. 7: Two Tickets to Trouble!

******Arc Three - Moonrise**

**Chapter Seven - ****Two Tickets to Trouble! The Youma's Trap is Sprung!**

With the promise of nearly-front-row tickets to a concert by Mikan Shiratori, the next week couldn't pass fast enough for Usagi. It seemed to drag by at a rate of inches, like a horrible mean beast filled with school and homework, each second taking hours to tick by.

Finally, though, the weekend came. Indeed, it came upon her with such swiftness that she almost missed half of it passing. She had been pounced on by the busywork of tending to the shrine under Rei. The older miko, sadistic taskmistress that she was, had decided that the huge torii gate at the entrance to the shrine had been getting dirty, not to mention in need of a fresh coat of paint. Thus, she had declared that they would be cleaning, repainting and polishing it until it all but shone a rich, glorious vermilion once more.

Yes, the whole thing.

It was only when Rei had idly commented, halfway through the last coat of varnish, that it was getting late that Usagi had realised what time it was. She barely had ten minutes to meet Naru at their agreed meeting spot, and it was far enough away that she should probably have started changing half an hour in advance. At least Rei had 'graciously' let her go on seeing her state of panic.

Which led to her here, and now. Paint stained, still wearing the old clothes they'd been working in because she hadn't had time to change, her hands covered in... well, in _varnish _varnish, rather than nail varnish, and her hair streaming out behind her as she all but flew along the street.

"Late late late late late late late!" she chanted desperately, grabbing a lamppost with one hand as she passed it and swinging round it to take the next turn far more sharply than she could have done unassisted. The move also left an oily reddish streak on the metal pole, but Usagi didn't really care about that, in the state she was in. Pushing herself to eke a little more traction out of her trainers, she glanced down at her watch. Four minutes till she was meant to meet Naru, and she still had to change somehow or at least get her hands clean, and she had to find _some _ way of getting new clothes or she'd be sat nearly-in-the-front-row wearing old _dungarees _and if Mikan saw her like that she would just _die_...

And then, there was Naru. She was leaning casually against a wall, already looking towards Usagi expectantly. The talisman she had got from the shrine, which she had taken to wearing everywhere, hung around her neck, and she had a satchel slung over her shoulder. As soon as she saw Usagi round the corner at a rate of knots, she unslung it and held it out for Usagi to take as the blonde approached.

Unfortunately, Usagi's natural grace and balance only really applied while she was panicked and running. As soon as she started to slow down, the pavement rose up with malicious intent and snagged her shoe on an uneven flagstone. And from there, her old foes Gravity and Inertia took over, sending her into a tumbling and rather painful collapse that left her sprawled somewhere in the vicinity of Naru's feet.

"... you okay?" the redhead asked curiously. She didn't sound particularly concerned, mostly because she had known Usagi for years. Naru had long-since decided that if she got stressed or worried whenever her somewhat ditzy friend went sprawling, her hair would have turned grey years ago and her blood pressure would be through the roof.

"Jus' peachy," came the muffled reply from ground level. "Gimme a mo. S'in th'bag?"

"Clothes. For you. I kind of figured you'd wind up running late with no time to change." Naru peered down suspiciously. "Though I gotta say, I didn't count on you managing to... to... Usagi, are your hands painted red? _Why? _Wait, no, don't answer that, I don't want to know. We've got half an hour to get there, we'll just stop somewhere on the way and you can try to wash yourself off a bit before we go in."

There was a brief pause as Usagi considered this. "... love you, Naru," she eventually decided, prying her face out of the pavement. "Lifesaver. Really. You are."

Flattered despite herself, Naru tried for an exasperated eyeroll, though it still looked rather like preening. "Well, you know," she huffed. "Someone's gotta look after you. Come on, let's get moving."

A quick, furtive stop at a café's toilets saw Usagi clean and changed, if still somewhat reddish around the hands, and together they started off towards the park the concert was to be held in.

They were halfway there when they stumbled across something new.

"Uh, Naru?" Usagi asked, looking oddly at the large crowd gathered around a shop that she could have sworn was empty last week. "Are... are they queuing for the concert or something? They seem... kind of rowdy." Indeed, some members of the crowd were actively elbowing people out of the way to get into the shop, and those leaving seemed alternately delighted and blissful. Usagi eyeballed one of them as she and Naru passed, a middle-aged woman cradling what appeared to be a ball of fluff with eyes in her arms and cooing to it. She had to admit, it did look kind of cute...

"Some kind of pet shop?" suggested Naru. "Well, that's neat and all, but we need to get going, or we'll Usagi where are you _going? _Hey! Come back here! Usagi!"

It was too late, though. Her blonde friend – Naru privately ran through several unkind comments about blondes in her privacy of her own head– had already ducked into the mass of bony elbows and barging shoulders, ducking down to squirm towards the façade and see what all the fuss was about. After the second bruised rib, Naru backed off and retreated out of range, muttering angrily to herself.

"Dammit, Usagi, if you make us miss this..."

Inside the scrum of people, Usagi forced her way past _another _teenage girl – the crowd seemed to largely be made up of kids and parents – and finally made it to the front. Looking through the window, she saw...

... cuteness. Pure, condensed cuteness, of such terrible potency that she squealed before she could stop herself. Naru had been right, it was a pet shop, and the pets were...

... were...

... well, if she were to be honest, she wasn't entirely sure _what _they were, but whatever it was, it was _adorable_. The creatures were something like a cross between kittens, baby rabbits, puppies and all other things small, fluffy and huggable. It was almost painfully sweet to look at them. Usagi already wanted one. And from what she could see of the posters in the window, they were going incredibly cheap, too. Almost being given away, which was kind of surprising, really. You didn't often get businesses flogging their wares like this, at such low prices and to such... large... crowds...

... oh. Well.

Drat.

There was, she realised as she dragged herself out of the fluffy zone of cuteness her mind had been staggering around drunkenly in, a very reasonable chance that this was in fact a youma's evil energy-draining scheme and that the cute furry things – chanelas, from what it said on the sign – were actually tiny monsters in disguise. And in just a few moments, they'd transform into their full monstrous form and... and start possessing people like the smoke monsters had and making them do bad things! Or turn into huge beasts and go rampaging around breaking stuff and stealing things! Or even make everyone lazy and tired so the things could drink their blood!

... but right now they were still really _cute _tiny evil monsters! She didn't want to have to kill things that cute! What would that do to her reputation as a Pretty Sailor Suited Warrior of Love and Justice? No, she would have to be sure before she made any moves in that direction.

Sighing, she edged a little closer to the window – ignoring the not-so-gentle buffeting of the crowd – and closed her eyes, seeking out the focus that Luna had painstakingly clawed into her. She would sense to see if there were any youma inside the shop, she decided, and if there were, she'd...

... the concert would start soon, so she'd...

... well...

... she'd work out what to do then, if it turned out there were youma there, that's what she'd do. Yeah. That sounded like a good plan.

But when she opened her heart to the world as she'd been taught, the dark mass of corruption she'd come to associate with youma was nowhere to be found. There _was _a lot of disturbance around her – probably the crowd being all excited – and a sort of low-level haze of malice over the whole shop, but it didn't seem to have the sickening iron-scent that youma did.

It did seem to be centred on the chanelas, though.

But, then again, she was fairly sure that Luna produced an aura of malice at times. And cruelty. And claws. And Rei! Rei _definitely _produced an aura of malice – in fact, Usagi should probably check that she wasn't actually a youma or an evil spirit in disguise, with how evil and cruel-hearted and mean she was sometimes. So maybe the cute little things weren't _evil_, just... not very nice animals?

That sounded about right.

And she was fairly sure that if she hung around here any longer, Naru would shoulder her way through the crowd and kill her. Messily. Anyway, she'd cast out her senses, and there were _definitely _no youma here, so these people weren't in any actual _danger_. She could always come back and investigate later if she had to. After the concert. She could tell Luna about it when she got home, maybe, and get her cat-mentor to come snoop around with her. It might even get Luna to stop snarking about how she slacked off so much! After all, this was showing initiative, right?

Yes, she decided. It was a bit suspicious, but as long as there was no immediate threat, she'd be better off... uh... maintaining her cover. Naru would get really suspicious if she missed the concert to investigate here, so she almost had an _obligation _to go. Not to mention that it would be really rude to Naru's friend, Rui, who had got the tickets for them, to just waste them by skiving off. So she'd go to the concert, and then come back to look at this place... maybe tomorrow night.

Nodding to herself at the clear sense and logic in her decision, Usagi began the long and arduous process of squirming back out of the crowd towards Naru again.

They had a show to get to, after all. It wouldn't do to be late.

* * *

...

* * *

Standing back from the torii gate, Rei Hino put her hands on her hips – ignoring the stains this left on the old jeans – and looked upon her work. The pillars shone a rich and vibrant vermilion, as clean and fresh as the day they had been first painted. She gave a satisfied nod, and – after stretching and checking the time – wandered back into the shrine to change. Her work hours were over, though she occasionally hung around the shrine in miko robes even during her time off, on relatively lazy days like this. All her homework was done, as usual, and she had no outstanding chores now that the gate was done.

She paused at the entrance to the shrine to stretch again, squeezing her eyes shut blissfully as she arched her spine and felt a couple of pops as the kinks came out. It felt _good _to have that done, it had been nagging at her for almost two months now, but she hadn't been able to tackle it until now. It was really a two-person job if she wanted it finished in one day, so as not to have to leave it overnight without varnishing. Usagi, slacker that she was sometimes (or most times she wasn't watched like a... well, a crow) was the first apprentice miko she trusted enough to tackle it.

Her thoughts wandered to the blonde as she changed out of the paint-stained clothes, scrubbed her hands clean, and after a few moments of deliberation selected jeans and a t-shirt over her red and white robes. The sense of irritation at a standing task – and the triumph of a big job completed – was one that few people seemed to understand, Usagi least of all. Rei was willing to bet that _she _wasn't up to date in whatever homework she had from school. And yet, it wasn't _laziness_, not quite. She was perfectly – well, alright, relatively – willing to help when prodded a bit and occasionally shouted at, and once she _did _apply herself to a job, she got it done. If she didn't, Rei wouldn't have trusted her with repainting the gate.

And yet those flashes of focus seemed completely undisciplined, pointed more towards trivial pursuits, gossip and recreation than anything that yielded concrete, lasting accomplishments. Like video games, or this concert. Circular things that produced nothing, honed no real-life skills, and required no real effort. Of course, such things had their place – oh, she had plans for this evening, oh yes she did – but that place was not dominating one's entire life. Rei shook her head in a mix of dismissal and exasperation at Usagi's flightiness.

... still, Usagi _had _seemed _awfully _complimentary about that singer. And while watching a concert didn't take much work, Rei was well aware that performing in one definitely did. Maybe she could just... stroll along and see if there were any tickets left. Just to see what kind of music was so appealing to her new hire... and maybe find something to tease her about, if it was the kind of sappy romantic stuff that the younger girl probably enjoyed.

Hmm. Wait. When had Usagi said her birthday was? She wasn't sure. But _mentally _she was certainly younger, so it still counted.

A brief consultation with her mobile phone located the concert, down in Juuban Park. It was a fair distance away, perhaps half an hour's walk, but she was in no particular hurry. It was a beautiful afternoon, with summer on the wane as August began. The sky was a clear, darkening blue streaked through with clouds like shelves of slate that drifted low on the horizon. They flanked the sun to her right as she started off down towards Azabu-Juuban, a red-orange crucible amidst the haze of iron as it dipped down to touch the earth. Rei strolled along at a comfortable pace, content for the moment to drink in the evening as it drew in.

She was startled rather abruptly from this peaceful reverie about ten minutes into her walk, as a motorcycle whizzed past her at speeds that she was pretty sure were above the speed limit (and if they weren't, they should be), and close enough past her that she could see the tufts of short blonde hair sticking out from under the rider's helmet. Her shriek of outrage drew a raised hand of apology as the bike sped off into the distance, but nothing more.

"Maniac!" she yelled after it furiously. "Speeder! Are you trying to run someone down, you... huh?"

She blinked, her attention sliding from the receding form of the biker to a shop a little ahead of her. Visually, it wasn't much to look at – it seemed to be just closing up, with only a few people browsing inside. To her spiritual senses, though – the ones that painted the world with more than the flat, monochrome shades other people saw – it exuded a faint but unmistakable odour of malice. Rei was a priestess, and one with some real power, though she knew not many believed in such things. Still, she knew the scent of spiritual corruption. She'd performed several genuine purifications in the past, and she could tell the difference between human malice and the malevolence of spirits or other things beyond mere mortal ken.

And this shop stank of the latter.

Rei hesitated, torn. On the one hand, the shop was closing, and the thought of breaking in to investigate was... off-putting, to say the least. But on the other hand, allowing an evil presence to set up roots in her neighbourhood without at least some effort to combat it was even less appealing. She couldn't just do _nothing_.

Pursing her lips, she pulled a hairtie out of her pocket, left over from the painting, and quickly pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail. That would at least make her less recognisable if anyone saw her. Then, eyes narrowed, she circled around the block until she found an alley leading between the two rows of storefronts, and slid down it, looking for the back of the shop. It wasn't difficult to identify which one it was, not with the itchy feeling of menace permeating out from the building like a thin mist.

To her mild surprise, the staff entrance door was unlocked, albeit surrounded by the kind of rubbish that begged for a skip – indeed, it was hanging open and missing the top hinge. There didn't seem to be anyone hanging around, so she slipped inside quietly, taking care not to trip on the junk that was scattered around the narrow corridors of the staff area. Which... as she looked closer, wasn't just ordinary junk. Some of it looked very much out of place, and other bits...

Glancing both ways quickly and keeping an ear out for any movement nearby, Rei crouched down and sorted through a heap lying next to an office door. There were bits of shelves here, along with shattered glass and chunks of plaster. A swivel chair missing the lower half of its stand was leaning next to a door marked 'storeroom', and she recalled seeing a desk in the small yard-space outside. There was even half a cash register, the money still inside – and from a quick glance, she guessed there must be at least ten thousand yen in it, perhaps more. Why would someone just dump all of this in the back rooms? It was as if the store had been gutted and refurbished, with the garbage left over afterwards tossed carelessly out of sight and given no further thought. What would possess someone to do something like that?

A cat yowled somewhere nearby and something clattered in the yard outside. Rei nearly jumped out of her skin. The sudden sounds brought her back to her senses, though, and she realised that she'd been drifting off into thought – not a safe thing to do in the middle of a suspicious place like this. What she _should _do now, she knew, was leave, go back home, tell her grandfather of her suspicions and perhaps inform the police.

Her gaze drifted to the door marked 'storeroom'.

... well, maybe she could go inform the police later. After checking out one more thing. After all, if whoever was doing this didn't care about money, didn't it make sense to find out why they were selling things? From the look she'd got through the window, they were little rabbit-cat-puppy things. So what were they, and more importantly, why were they being sold?

Steeling her nerve, she edged up to the storeroom door, and opened it, darting inside and closing it behind her with care not to alert anyone via the noise. Only when it had clicked softly closed did she turn around to take a look at the room she'd snuck into.

Five hundred pairs of beady red eyes stared back.

It took every muscle in her body tensing, but Rei somehow managed to suppress the scream. Up-close, the little creatures didn't look nearly as cute as they had done from a distance. They were stacked up in cages all along the walls – and that was another strange thing, the cages were tiny. Barely big enough for the things to sit in. Yet there was no restlessness, no apparent discomfort with the tiny living space they were provided. They just sat there, perfectly still, watching her.

Rei swallowed. This was... this was incredibly creepy, if she were to be honest. And now that she was this close, she could tell that the aura of malice she'd sensed was coming from the creatures themselves. They were clearly unnatural, and she could feel the tugging of a compulsion to find them sweet – one which only made them more disturbing to one who could sense it. Her hand strayed to her pocket... but no, she was in her normal clothes, not miko attire. She had no charms or talismans on her, and she didn't dare risk the noise that smashing cages would produce.

... she had a notepad, though. And a pen.

A quick and hasty minute of scribbling later, and she had an ofuda. Well, something approximating one. It was written in biro on notepad paper, and wouldn't be nearly as potent as the ones back at the shrine – which, she promised herself, she would never henceforth leave home without – but she could still feel the faint thrum of her spiritual energy within the lines of the kanji etched on it in bold, sure strokes.

It wasn't much. But it would have to be enough.

She scowled at the little monsters. "Whatever you are," she promised them darkly, levelling a finger at them threateningly, "and whatever this place is for, I will find out. And once I do, I will see _all _of you horrible little things destroyed. But for now, I'll have to content myself with putting just you lot out of action."

Snapping her wrist to straighten out the charm, she held it between her fingers as she faced down the plague of vermin. _Now _they began to move, shuffling away from Rei as if they knew what the paper held threateningly in her hand represented for them. But in their cages they were too cramped and contained to get away, and a righteous smirk curved her lips as she drew her arm back to cast it at them.

And a voice spoke up from the doorway behind her.

'Well now,' it gravelled. 'What _do _we have here?'

* * *

...

* * *

Juuban Park was a large, roughly rectangular area of about five acres, nestled in the city sprawl with a view of Tokyo Tower rising over the roofs to the northeast. The concert stage had been set up just in front of the lake that occupied the park's centre, in a clear spot away from the trees. Rows of seats sat in front of it, along with open areas further back for the standing attendees.

There was quite a crowd gathered already. The advertising for the show had been widespread, and Mikan Shiratori was at the peak of her popularity. There were rumours she would be debuting a new single or two tonight as well, and eager anticipation rippled through the waiting ranks of fans. Nor was she the only singer on the cards – there were several other idols and a few bands lined up to perform, with a cut of the proceeds going to charity.

The genre didn't appeal to everyone, however. The throngs were mostly youthful, teenagers and young adults come to have a good time and dance to the fast-paced beats of pop and light rock. The tickets had still sold out fast, though, and more money was still being made as vendors offered food and trinkets to the concert-goers, hawking their wares as part of the background chorus that marked an upbeat, excited crowd.

One person wasn't able to share in the generally cheerful mood. Mamoru Chiba hovered near the lake shore, on the forward edge of the crowd. He and his friends hadn't gone to their seats yet, not with ten minutes yet to go before things got started. Leaning against the pole of a convenient signpost, he stared off into space across the lake, seeing-without-seeing the graceful arcs of the fountain at its centre. He should have been cheerful, happy. He would be turning nineteen tomorrow, after all, and this was supposed to be a celebratory party in his honour.

But he couldn't muster up the energy to be enthusiastic, despite the occasion. His mind was stuck on darker things. Like the black-outs.

They'd been happening for two or three weeks now, once every two or three nights. He'd be doing something – usually in the evening or early morning, hanging around his flat or working on coursework – and then he'd have a fit of... something. It wasn't exactly a headache; there was no pain. Just the terrifying feeling of something _expanding _inside his head, something that blotted him out just by its presence. His vision would blur, his balance would fail, and then...

... and then he would wake up, back in his apartment. Hours later, usually, and with no memory of the missing time. He was fairly sure he wasn't just passing out, because he was rarely where he had been when the fit came on – often on the bed or a chair. But he'd asked around subtly, and he wasn't leaving the building, either.

It was beginning to scare him. But what was he supposed to tell a doctor, if he went to one? He'd done some research online, and he couldn't find anything that caused the kind of symptoms he was experiencing. The lack of any pain, the memory blackouts without leaving his apartment or simply collapsing... it seemed to be unique. He couldn't even predict when they would happen.

His apartment had picked up a faint scent of flowers, too. One that he definitely wasn't responsible for. He'd first noticed it about a week after the first fit. But what could flowers have to do with a mental illness? Or, as he considered in the more spine-chilling trains of thought he'd been on recently, a brain tumour of some kind. It was a frightening possibility. Maybe he should get checked up? Maybe...

"Hey. Hey, Mamoru, are you in there? Earth to planet Chiba, are you reading me?"

"Huh?" He turned, jolted out of his reverie. It was Motoki, a teasing smile on his face.

"Come on, Chiba," he prodded. "For the birthday boy, you're being pretty glum and gloomy. Lighten up a bit! And hurry up, we're heading to our seats now. The concert kicks off in a few minutes."

"Yeah... sure. Coming." Mamoru pushed himself off from his support and followed after his friend. There were five or six of them here, most of the others holding beers. They laughed and joked with him and each other as they strolled down to their seats, and he did his best to play along and act in kind. There was little sense in worrying them, after all.

Out of the corner of his eye, a long blonde hair streamer caught his attention, and he rolled his eyes. It figured meatball head would show up here – though then again, verbal jousting matches with her did tend to raise his spirits somewhat. Still, he wasn't interested in having one here and now, and she was some distance from him anyway. She also had a reddish tint to her hands, which prompted a faint smirk on his part. He'd be willing to bet the klutz had tripped and fallen onto wet paint, or something similar. It might be fun to suggest such if they wound up sitting nearby each other.

They didn't, though. She went off to somewhere near the front, while Mamoru and his friends were right on the edge of the seats, over on the far right of the rows. Still, it gave a decent view of the stage and the lake behind it, so he wasn't too upset with the placement. Settling into his seat and stealing some popcorn from Motoki, he watched disinterestedly as the presenter ran through the usual trite opening announcements, before deferring to Mikan Shiratori herself.

The singer stepped on stage with a sensual strut and a smug smirk. Brown hair cascaded down her back in a carefully styled mane of ringlets, and she moved with a smooth and flowing grace as she walked up to snatch the microphone from the man.

The hairs on the back of Mamoru's neck began to prickle.

"I'm _so _glad to see you all here," Shiratori purred, green eyes sweeping over the gathered masses. "It is so very encouraging to see that we can gather people together for a common cause with such ease. Truly, it buoys my spirit."

The smirk widened, and on the big screens to either side of the stage, Mamoru could see her eyes glitter as if at some private joke. His hands were itching now, and he became aware of a very faint tremor in his arms, the kind he got just before a big exam or a brewing fight with one of the drunken idiots that sometimes started posturing in the student bars.

"But before we start," Mikan continued, "I want to hear the audience! I can feel the energy of this crowd from here, you all seem very happy to be here! Are you ready for tonight?"

A roar from the crowd, eager to follow along with her prompts. Mamoru barely heard them, swaying dizzily in his seat. There was... there was something. Something... important. Something he needed. Or was it something he _was _needed for? He wasn't sure. His head felt over-full, thick and slow, like it was filled with syrup or liquid metal. A heady warmth battered his mind, sinking into his bones and thoughts like the baking heat of a sauna. He could feel... it was... this was familiar, somehow. He just couldn't remember how, or why, or...

... alone. He had to get away from the people, be alone. He didn't know why, but he had to. Muttering an excuse to Motoki and the others, he heaved himself to his feet, ignoring their questions as he nearly tripped over himself. He heard talking in the distance as he stumbled away towards the toilets, staggering like a drunkard in his dizziness.

"Well, that was certainly pretty loud," said... someone. A woman, he vaguely thought. "But I'm still not convinced. Just how enthusiastic are you all? How much do you _really _want to see this concert?"

Another roar shook the crowd. Mamoru's instincts were screaming at him now, as he half knelt, half collapsed behind a bush. Even through the haze of fog and treacle that was his mind and the alien strength welling up from his bones that cut through it, his skin prickled as he heard the woman's next words.

"Excellent. Lots of energy here, ripe for the harvest. And since you're all so _very _willing to be here..." The cruel smirk was almost audible now, as was the tone of sadistic, menacing pleasure in the honeyed tones. The crowd began to murmur uneasily, but Mamoru could have told them – were he not groaning and clutching his head in distress – that it was already far too late.

"... I'm sure you won't mind if I _take _it."

A sudden gale seemed to whip through the park; unseen and immaterial, ripping strength from limbs and breath from lungs. Screams died in their owners throats, attempts to run turned into sprawling, twitching falls, and the standing and seated audience began dropping like flies, comatose bodies littering the ground like refuse. Over it all, the cackling laughter of the woman rang out, as delighted as it was insane.

Mamoru felt the foreign strength within him solidify one last time, forming a shield around his heart that gave no more ground before the vampiric wind than did a continent before a wavelet. It held itself there for a brief moment, strangely reassuring despite its unfamiliarity.

Then it surged upwards like a mountain exploding from a pebble, and he knew no more.

* * *

...


	9. 8: A Showdown on Stage?

******Arc Three - Moonrise**

**A Showdown on Stage? Moonrise over Tokyo!**

"Halt!"

The cry rang through the howling, unseen gale, and the thing wearing Mikan Shiratori's face stopping laughing. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, seeking out the source of the command.

She didn't have to look far. Golden hair streaming out behind her, Sailor Moon leapt out of the crowd and up onto the stage in one bound, pointing an accusatory finger. "You!" she shouted. "How dare you ruin a concert like this! No one came here to listen to you! Stop what you're doing and surrender now; you're hurting these people!" The leeching wind whipped around her to no effect, unable to gain any purchase.

The false Mikan noticed the girl was already reaching for her tiara, in much the same way a samurai would go for his sword, or a gunslinger his pistols. And while the human looked laughable and utterly unsuited to confront a chevalier like her, something about the gleam of the metal adorning the girl's forehead made it seem like an incredibly bad idea to let her get her hands on it.

The youma snapped her fingers, and a thin spike of glass rocketed across the stage. There was no warning, no charge-up time. Just a quick lashing out that produced a bolt of razor-sharp blue-green glass which crossed the distance between them in an eye-blink, aimed directly at the insolent girl's heart.

It slammed home less than a centimetre to one side of the broach the girl wore on her chest, sending Moon stumbling back from the force of the impact. She fell over in surprise, shattered splinters tinkling down onto the floor around her. Her hand went to her chest even as she gasped for breath.

But there was no wound in her chest, no fragments of glass piercing her organs to suck the lifeblood from her veins. The bolt hadn't even broken the leotard. For a moment, it was hard to tell who was more surprised, the false Mikan or Sailor Moon.

Then Moon squeaked in fear as the youma snarled and let fly with a flurry of spikes, blades and bolts. Scrambling to her feet, she ran for the back of the stage, ducking, tripping and stumbling in a clumsy weave that somehow avoided the worst of the barrage. Those projectiles that did manage to strike broke harmlessly against her leotard and skin, leaving painful welts but little else.

"Insolent swine!" the youma screamed. A glass disc passed close enough to Moon's face that she could see her reflection in it, shocked and pale and wide-eyed at the lethal intent being thrown at her. Its partner missed by bare centimetres, and she rolled behind a set of speakers just in time for a volley of needles to thud into their surface, rattling inside as they tore the innards to pieces.

She grasped the tiara with shaking hands, her breath coming in deep gasps. Once. Twice. Thrice. The youma had stopped throwing things, she could hear it moving across the stage. Trying to get a better shot at her.

Okay then. She should go... now.

Moon rolled out from behind the speakers and darted right to avoid the glass spike that whipped out to meet her. She was expecting it, and already adjusting her aim as she dodged, bringing the tiara round to hurl at the...

... the...

... person, with flushed skin and fraying hair and furious eyes and this wasn't anything like attacking a dried up corpse or a scary scaled monster, she looked just like Mikan and what if that _was _Mikan and she was possessed or something, and if Moon threw the tiara at her she was really killing an innocent whose body was being controlled against her will, and...

The tiara soared off on a far-too-wide arc, missing by more than a bodylength and sailing out over the crowd. It began to curve back to her hand, but too slow, far too slow. The youma-Mikan grinned viciously and threw again. It wasn't a bolt or a knife this time, it was a _spear_, sharp and huge and lethal. Frozen in uncertainty, Moon watched death approach on glinting glass wings.

And shatter.

Blue-green shards went everywhere as something met the spear head-on in flight and broke it down its length. The youma-Mikan managed to dodge as the projectile flashed past her, but three more drilled into the stage around her feet. Roses, sunk deep into the wooden boards.

They burst upwards in furious growth before she could react. In seconds, her legs were snarled in a hopeless tangle of thorny stems, and her struggles did nothing but draw further blood. She snarled and thrashed uselessly as the vines wrapped around her waist and caught her arms, as the stems rose up to the height of her chest and buds appeared along the twining greenery. One by one, they opened; beautiful red roses the size of a fist.

And then, as the tiara whirred back and slammed into Moon's hand with reassuring force, they exploded.

Every piece of the blue-green glass in sight flashed brilliant turquoise for a second and dissolved into dust as the blast rang out. The howling soul-wind faltered and faded, and Moon turned delightedly to the tall figure of Tuxedo Mask standing behind her, arm still outstretched from the thrown roses. His eyes were concealed as always by the half-mask, but he gave her a faint smirk and a shallow bow.

"Fear not, Sailor Moon," he said firmly. "Your compassion does you credit. But look beyond the monster's disguise to the cruel heart within, and strike without hesitation."

"Tuxedo Mask!" she beamed in relief. "What..."

'_You!_'

Tuxedo Mask's cane snapped up, parrying a spinning disk of glass that would otherwise have taken his head off. It ricocheted off into one of the metal supports holding up the top of the stage, went clean through it, and continued out over the lake. Both Moon and Mask's attention snapped back to the matter at hand. The fight was not yet over.

The sight revealed as the smoke from the explosion cleared was not for the faint of heart. The visage of Mikan Shiratori had been destroyed. Now, visible under the charred, sloughed-off skin was the gleaming crystal surface of the youma that had worn her face. The last remnants of the disguise crumbled even as they watched; the spell that had sustained it dispelled in the blast.

Slitted red eyes set in a skull-like face of polished turquoise regarded the pair with hateful malice as the youma stood up. And then further up. It was a lot taller now that the false-flesh it had been wearing was unmade – taller than any human by at least a head's worth. Moon stepped back uncertainly, and Tuxedo Mask shifted his weight in readiness for an attack.

But it didn't lunge. It spoke.

'First, I am going to rip out your hearts,' it spat at them through a mouth like a shark's. 'And then I shall paint your blood all over the trees.' Its arm bulged and warped, lengthening and reshaping until it was tipped with a long, jagged spike of crystal that looked like the bastard offspring of a scorpion's tail and a particularly vicious thorn branch.

It moved with unnatural swiftness, lashing forward with the brutish appendage. The arm stretched out like a whip, growing to at least twice the length of the youma's own body as it slammed into the stageboards where Sailor Moon had been standing with a crash and a spray of splinters. 'Had been' was the operative phrase, because she was already moving as it shot out. A powerful jump straight upwards took her up into the mess of scaffolding that held up the top of the podium, and she vanished behind the glare of one of the stage lights.

Snarling, the youma turned on Tuxedo Mask. But he was already fading back into the shadows, deflecting the jab it sent his way with a swirl of his cape. A rose speared through the curtain at the back of the stage, forcing the youma to deflect it with a panicked yelp. It lashed out at the spot with its whip-arm, but a crack of cane against glass had it pulling it back again just as quickly. Up above, Moon looked down on the exchange and racked her brains for a plan.

Her eyes cut right, to the blindingly bright spotlights pointed down to illuminate the centre stage. Yes. That would work.

Picking her spot carefully, she crept over to the light as Tuxedo Mask continued to harass the youma from hiding – a rose here, a cane blow there. The curtain at the back of the stage was soon almost gone, leaving nowhere for him to hide, but that was okay. She only needed one shot. Reaching the light, she aimed carefully, squinting against the glare. Then she threw.

Gold hummed through the air. The faint sound was all that saved the youma's life. Whirling away from the exchange with Tuxedo Mask – the distraction – it brought up its bulky, whip-like arm to block the death bearing down on it from above. Coming directly down the beam of one of the stage lights, the glowing tiara was all but invisible – had it not been for the whir of metal through air, it would have been a killing blow. Instead, it struck the monster's arm full on, and deflected.

Moon gasped in dismay. Neither of the youma she had fought before had been able to do that. The tiara had never failed to slice through whatever it hit, be it hair, limb or even steel. But while it left a deep and painful-looking gash on this glassy monster, it failed to cut the arm off. What was worse, it was caught in a spray of the youma's blood, a sticky, clear liquid that knocked it to the ground and hardened around it as the wound closed slowly. It wasn't healed, not by a long shot – the scar would be hideous – but Moon could tell just by looking that she wasn't getting her tiara back anytime soon.

The impact wrenched a scream from the monster, a horrible sound like metal on glass. It dropped to one knee, then looked up. The crimson glow in its eyes was brighter than ever, the malice and hate almost sickening to see. 'You!' it shrieked. 'Moon-witch, I know you! You reek of that horrid power. I'll take your head!'

Its injured arm spasmed briefly, and it bared its teeth. 'Serfs!' it called out to the sky. 'Heed me! Come to my aid! Come to me!' It batted aside another rose and leapt to avoid another – Moon couldn't see where they had come from, but it retaliated with a mighty blow from its whip-arm. The injury didn't seem to hinder it as the thing uncoiled and struck with a crunch of crumpling metal, and Moon felt the stage lurch sideways.

Then it turned to look up at her. Or at least, into the light. Backing away hastily, Moon dived for the cover of the next spotlight even as a lance splintered the one she'd been standing in front of seconds before. She landed hard on her stomach and forced herself up again quickly, expecting another.

It didn't come. Instead, abruptly, the entire stage lurched sideways again. Moon screamed, grabbing onto a rail for support, then tentatively craned down to see what had happened.

She was just in time to see the youma slice through the third support column.

'Hiding up there, silver-witch?' the youma taunted. 'Afraid to fight me? Afraid to act on your own?' Another crunch. Another gut-wrenching lurch. 'Then perhaps I should make it simpler for you!'

It raised its other hand towards the crowd, and made a series of arcane gestures. And to her horror, Moon felt the air stir with a wind that went beyond the physical. The soul-flensing gale began to build again, picking up speed as it built, tugging life force mercilessly from the masses of unconscious concert-goers.

Wide-eyed and horrified, she was totally unprepared for the next bone-jarring jolt as the youma cut the last support column. With a thundering crash, the stage roof dropped, the mass of metal and plastic hitting the stage hard enough to break clean through it in places. Moon landed in an ungainly heap, cracking her head painfully against the floor.

When she had enough wits about her to look up, the youma was standing in front of her. Up close, it was even more grotesque. A maw full of needle-sharp teeth split the skeletal face in a shark's grin, and it raised the viciously barbed whip-arm to strike. Moon couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.

Black and red velvet swirled in front of her, and the report of cane on glass rang out again. Tuxedo Mask, dropping in as if from nowhere to block. The slim rod held against the bulky spike without strain, keeping it from moving an inch further. From behind the half-mask, the man glared stubbornly. His cape was torn in a couple of places from the collapse of the stage, and there were marks of impacts on his suit. Nonetheless, he stood firm.

But the youma didn't scowl, or scream, or snarl. It smirked, horribly.

Then it opened its mouth and spat.

A spiderweb spray of gooey strands enveloped him – too close and too fast for him to dodge or block. He whirled away immediately, but it only made the effect worse – it followed him, keeping up the spray as he grew more and more entangled. The strands grew and spread, hardening as they went. They crept across his chest and up his arms, caressed his face and anchored his feet to the ground. Within ten seconds, he was hopelessly caught. Within another five, he was nothing but a hazy outline within a solid block of glass.

The youma inspected its work with the air of a connoisseur. Peering closely at the glass, it frowned in confusion.

'Odd...' it muttered. Moon looked up dully, dazed at the sudden loss of her ally and protector. She'd always been able to count on Tuxedo Mask being the cavalry, arriving whenever she was in true danger to get her out of it. Now... now he was trapped, and they were both in mortal peril. He wasn't dead, at least – she could just about see him still moving in the glass, struggling at a snail's pace towards the edge as if mired in treacle or tar. But neither was he able to aid her.

'Never seen that before,' the youma mused, sounding more relaxed now that one of its opponents was out of action. The wind howled, and Moon realised with horror that the wound she'd inflicted was healing faster. It had already shrunk to half its size, and was visibly knitting back together. The youma caught her expression and leered.

'Most of the energy goes to my lord, yes? But what he doesn't know will not hurt me. And... oh, I suppose this means you can't hurt me without them suffering further.' It nodded its head at the motionless forms littering the ground in front of the stage, and chuckled. The sound was harsh and grating, and utterly without humour. 'Make no mistake, Moon-swine. I _will _drain them dry if you strike me again. But I suppose it doesn't matter, really.'

A thud came from behind it. A dark shape, distorted and monstrous, had landed behind it. Another touched down, and another. With each arrival, the rank taste of iron and corruption in the air grew stronger still.

The cavalry had arrived. But not the kind she'd been hoping for.

* * *

...

* * *

The stench of iron wafted through the air, whipped to frenzy by the leeching wind. Dark shapes loomed on the shattered stage, casting long shadows in the rays of the setting sun. In the twilight murk, their silhouettes seemed to shift and sway, stretching to far greater sizes as they milled around behind their leader. A column of smoke was rising from beyond the edge of the park, and the faint smell of burning wood and metal laced through that of the youma themselves.

Sailor Moon looked around at them hopelessly. Her thoughts felt stilted and slow, knocked off balance by shock and fear. So when her eyes settled on the liquid coating the claws of one of the closer monsters and dripping down onto the wooden floor, it took her a few moments to realise what it was.

Blood.

A chill went through her at that. This monster, this youma, had hurt somebody. Recently. And other people were being hurt right now, by the wind. The leader youma was speaking, its harsh tones sounding amused and condescending as its arm wound knitted together, healing to leave only an off-coloured scar. But Moon wasn't really hearing it now. The tar that had marred her thoughts even as Tuxedo Mask had been caught was clearing away as she looked around. Looked to the left.

The still forms were everywhere. Most were slumped helplessly in their seats, a few were sprawled out over the ground where they'd managed to get a few steps before dropping. She could see them, their pale faces, their blue lips, the shallow rise and fall of their chests – getting shallower and more sporadic with every breath. Naru was somewhere in that crowd, she knew. Tuxedo Mask was still trapped, barely visible inside his glass coffin – moving, but too slow, too slow to get free before it was too late. Her tiara was lost under the debris of the roof, still cemented to a piece of stage flooring by the youma's resin-like blood.

She was alone. Outnumbered. Without allies, without weapons, without hope.

But her people were dying.

Her friends were dying.

The thought was like ice and fire in her veins, lightning along steeled nerves. She couldn't lie down and give up and die here. It seemed hard – it seemed impossible. But she _couldn't_.

And, she realised suddenly, it wasn't just because the thought made her inner Rei belt her around the head. She didn't _want _to give up. She didn't _want _to lie down. The situation might seem hopeless, but – deep down past the shock and the terror – she didn't feel it. There was something else down there, rising up with the dawning clarity of thought, growing and expanding like lava bursting up the throat of a volcano.

_Anger_.

It was like a veil had dropped away from her gaze, lighting up the world in shades that made everything simple. She was not going to die. She was going to live. She was going to save everyone. She was going to _punish _the monsters who had done this, and send them whimpering back to where they'd come from.

Before her, the glass abomination approached. She could feel it now in more detail than sight allowed, a snarled, corrupted spirit riddled through with iron veins stalking towards her. Its wound had finished sealing, and it drew back its barbed whip-arm as it approached. It said something, denigrating and insulting no doubt, directed at her lack of response. She still knelt on the stage where she had fallen, her head bowed and her eyes half-closed.

But not in defeat.

In the weeks prior, Sailor Moon had called on her powers to heal the possessed and corrupted, to drive off evil spirits and lend aid to the injured. But the energy from the suffering concert-goers was gone – she could feel it going still, sucked into a void at the heart of the youma leader to who-knew-where. People were on the brink of death for its lack, their hearts stuttering, their breath slowing. She needed to replace it. Not a purification of a few possessions, or a repelling of a single youma. She needed more.

Far, far more.

She reached within herself. Down into depths her instincts screamed at her to avoid. People were dying – her _friends _were dying – and so she pushed herself to reach deeper into the source of her power than she'd ever needed to before.

And from the silent depths of her soul, something reached back.

Painted against the darkening shades of dusk, the flash of silver was briefly visible from space. It eclipsed the lights of the city completely, but it didn't blind or sear. Rather, it _etched _itself into all that it touched, like ink on the fabric of the very world.

What remained of the back of the stage was blown clean off and the debris littering the stage around Sailor Moon's kneeling form was vaporised, leaving her in a perfect, unmarred circle.

The soul-stealing wind was snuffed out in an instant and the glass trapping Tuxedo Mask dissolved. The lesser youma disintegrated, falling apart into iron dust and sand. The leader was knocked off its feet, contorting in agony as ugly smoke billowed off it like a burning torch.

Centred in the ring of clear space, Moon stood.

A mandala backed her, shining with a soft white light that clung to every inch of her. Below it, a silver crescent moon hung with its points turned heavenwards, embellishments and offshoots spreading from it in a glorious display.

The light rippled across the halo as she turned to the crowd, lost in the sensation of the power flowing through her. They stirred slightly as the light provided some measure of succour from the effects of their draining.

Behind her, the youma struggled to its feet. It skin was cracking in the light, hairline fractures covering every visible inch of it and spreading further with every movement. Its eyes were screwed shut, and it hissed with every painful, gruelling step it took. But nevertheless, inch by painful inch, it started to make its way towards Moon's unaware silhouette. A splintered, broken dagger glinted in its hand, no less deadly for the damage to it.

"People of Tokyo!" Moon called, and the echoes carried her voice to every person there, as crystal-clear as though she were standing beside them. "My name is Sailor Moon!"

She took a breath as hundreds of confused and blinking eyes turned upwards. This much attention was... scary. But she persevered. "You were attacked just now, by a monster. A real one," she said, more quietly now, though still audible to every listening spectator. "I'm... I'm new at this. I'm not very good at it, and I don't know how well I can do. But I have powers, so... so I have a responsibility to use them. I will try my best to keep you safe! I am Sailor Moon, and I stand for Love and Justice! And I promise you, I will-"

She got no further, as the broken dagger slammed into her back through the middle of the halo's central ring. The results were instant and explosive. Moon screamed, falling forward onto one arm and lashing back blindly with the other. The halo itself rang like a bell – a thunderous sound that echoed through the park – and a plume of silver erupted from it. The youma was engulfed; a match before a flamethrower, and the gout of power continued out over the lake. The water beneath it frothed and bubbled madly, crystallising into a thin layer of clear diamond.

The coruscating light wreathed the halo itself, as well. The pure, serene harmony it had initially shown was gone, and now white arcs of light crackled along the lines of silver as its aura fluctuated wildly. Moon trembled where she knelt on one hand and her knees, gingerly feeling her back where the dagger had struck. There was a wound there, for sure. She couldn't tell how deep it was, but blood was soaking into the fabric of her uniform.

Also, it hurt. A lot. She whimpered at the spikes of agony that stabbed into her with every breath and movement. It hurt. It hurt it hurt it _hurt_, and it wouldn't stop hurting. Her fingers scrabbled at the broken wood of the stage, curling into shaking fists as she tried to bear down on the pain and make it recede.

She failed. Still, she managed to drag her attention away from the hot-cold-sharp-blunt pain spreading across her back. At least enough to look upwards and out, at the audience. At the people unable to stand, shaking, weak and feeble from the energy that had been drained from them. A little girl in the front row caught her eye, wearing a Mikan t-shirt. She couldn't have been much older than twelve. Now she was lying on the ground and barely breathing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Naru, trying and failing to hold herself upright with the aid of a chair.

This was wrong.

For the second time, Moon stood. She stood slower this time, levering herself upright on a broken spar of wood as the white light crackled across her halo. But nonetheless, she stood. And cupping her hands together, she poured her emotions into them; all of her compassion, concern and righteous anger at what had been done to these people. A mote of light appeared between her hands, first just a spark, then growing brighter and brighter until it was as if she held a fragment of the sun between her palms, with rays of light bursting out between her fingers.

"Be well," she whispered.

With no incantation or intention save to heal the hurts that had been suffered, she opened her palms.

And there was light.

Silver filled the park. For a timeless moment, she was all of them. She was young, and she was old. She was male, she was female. She was protector and protected, injured and healer both. She was with them, within them, enveloping and energising them.

She was with the old man on a bench beside the lake, healing his failing heart and re-kindling the light of his soul.

She held the hand of the little boy in the third row, soothing his scraped knee and replacing the energy taken from him.

She touched a woman near the back of the crowd, and felt the cancer barely beginning in her chest, and excised it, along with the exhaustion.

She hovered over Naru and tenderly embraced her, resetting a broken finger and breathing life back into shuddering lungs.

She replaced all that had been stolen, and then drew back into herself.

Or tried to.

She couldn't stop.

She couldn't stop the power.

She couldn't stop, couldn't control it, couldn't shut off the flow. She was healing everything, everyone, everywhere; the people, the bugs, the grass, the soil. Her power was even changing the bacteria in people's bodies, changing them so they wouldn't hurt their hosts and they would get to live too and she was them as well and could feel each and every tiny song. It was too much. Far too much. The cacophony of sensation and power was overwhelming, overbearing and utterly impossible to keep up with. She tried to draw back, to make it go away, to bring it under control, to make it _stop_, but she couldn't, and it kept increasing, and there was nothing she could do except...

Blackness came, and warm arms holding her, and then nothing.

* * *

...

* * *

_She dreamt._

_Arms encircled her, holding her close. They were warm and strong, and she felt safe in their protection. The rest of the details came slowly. She wore an elegant white gown that trailed low to the ground. It was a stark contrast against the black, gold-trimmed armour of her companion and the silk whispered soft across the man's ceremonial breastplate as she clung to him._

_"Endymion," she whispered, her voice at once an order and a plea. The arms around her tightened, and she looked up. The face above her was_

... a stranger's, dark-skinned and unfamiliar, and yet it sent a pang of recognition through her for reasons she couldn't quite...

_handsome, and sent a ripple of guilty pleasure through her. It was framed against the inside of a distant crystal dome, which stretched across a black sky speckled with stars._

_He drew away from her a little and looked deep into her eyes. His expression was that of a man looking upon a goddess, and his lips barely moved in reply. "Serenity," he breathed, and she_

... frowned, because that wasn't her name, was it? Her name was...

_sighed happily as she melted into him once more. A faint wind rustled through the garden they stood in. It faded into her awareness with sudden detail; the lush trees whose boughs hung low with decorations, the secluded privacy the orchard provided. The structures were carved from flawless crystal – artfully rough like crushed-glass-granite in the dry walls that cut the garden into sections, smooth and polished and frosted opaque in the high parapets of the palace._

_"You look breathtaking, my princess," he murmured, and she blushed. "Brighter and more beautiful than all the stars in the sky."_

_"Oh, Endymion." She swooned slightly, but straightened again as a thought occurred to her. "You weren't followed here?"_

_He chuckled, low and soft. "I managed to slip my keepers for the night. And this recluse is wonderfully private. We won't be disturbed here, my sweet."_

_"Wonderful," she breathed in relief. "It's been so long since I last saw you." It had been hard, enduring the months without him, and she_

... should have gone to find him, surely? Why would she just sit around without trying to fix things, shouldn't she be...

_had been hard pressed not to let on to anyone what she felt. "I was worried..." she continued, haltingly, "that... perhaps you might have found somebody else. Forgotten me. I am so very far away, after all, and our..."_

_"Serenity," he whispered again, like one dying of thirst being offered sweet water. "I would never. I _could _never feel that way for another, not after knowing you. My love I promise to you and only you, never to wither or fade. Undying and untarnished, for all eternity."_

_She gasped in delight and awe, her eyes widening. It was_

... incredibly romantic! That was the sort of confession she'd always dreamed...

_forbidden, her mother would be furious with her for even being here, and yet she couldn't bring herself to care about the consequences. Reaching up deliberately, she unbuckled his cape, wrapped her arms around him, and brought her lips up to meet his._

_"Our love," she whispered in agreement as she drew back. "Forever. No matter what."_

_The rest of the evening was not spent silent. But no words followed those, as the lovers treasured what time they had together._

* * *

...


	10. Interlude - Fire and Embers

**Interlude**

**Fire and Embers**

'Well now,' a voice gravelled. 'What _do _we have here?'

The speaker was not human. Rei was aware of _ that _the instant it began to speak. Corruption and malice flared behind her, far stronger and more overpowering than the faint trace that she had sensed from outside the building. She could taste the reek of rust and filth in the air, the oily feeling against her skin like ten thousand invisible spiders. A throbbing headache burst to life behind her left eyeball.

More of the tainted presences burst into life elsewhere in the building – two, then six, then ten, finally stabilising at a dozen or so. They had been veiled from her sight and her senses, but evidently the time for subtlety had passed.

This was a trap, and she had walked right into it.

'I think we...' continued the gravelly tones, like a heavy boulder grinding across stone. And then it stopped, partly out of surprise at the speed at which Rei had spun towards it, but mostly because her improvised ofuda had just hit it in the forehead.

Rei caught a split-second glimpse of a rock-like carapace and craggy, wind-worn features. Then the scribbled biro characters glowed a blinding red as they reacted to the corruption within the monster, and its head ignited like a cotton ball soaked in paraffin.

Rei watched wide-eyed as the monster screamed and flailed, beating at itself to try and douse the flames. All that accomplished was to spread them to its hands, and it staggered away down the corridor towards the door she'd come in through, clawing at its face and body as the flames ate into it voraciously. She... she had never had _that _happen before. Sure, she'd banished a few evil spirits, but only ever with the proper chants and rituals and with her grandfather leading her. He'd always stressed that even the smallest wicked spirit was a cunning and dangerous foe, to be treated with fear and full preparation and certainly not something which was vulnerable to, say, a single improvised ofuda. And those evil spirits had certainly never caught _fire_.

But there was no time to think about what it might mean. She hastily took advantage of the brief, stunned silence to slam the door shut and lock it. Then she cast around the room desperately. It was mostly bare but for the cages, whose occupants now followed her every movement with their eerie red stares. But just behind the door was a desk. It was cheap and tacky, the kind of plywood-and-hollow-tubing kind that were mass-assembled and which fell apart after a few years, but to Rei in that moment it was a godsend. She dragged it in front of the door and threw her weight against it for added measure, then scrabbled in the single drawer for anything that she could use.

A bang against the door kicked against her hard as her hand closed around what felt like a marker pen. She gritted her teeth and put all her weight into holding the door closed as another impact hammered against it. The pen _was _a marker, yes. Excellent. Shifting her weight to get a hand free while still bracing the door, she began to sketch broad lines straight onto the wood of the door.

It took an interminably long minute to draw out ward – first the circle, cross-tined and divided into segments, then the kanji circling it and finally those within. Before she was even halfway through, her stomach and knees were weak with terror, wondering why on earth they weren't doing anything. They weren't trying to break down the door or... or anything, though she could hear footsteps outside.

There were a lot of footsteps. And voices. They weren't human voices. But they were speaking to her and she could understand what they were saying. The torrent of abuse was tinged with a sick gloating note.

'_Your fear tastes great!_' '_How long do you think you'll last?_' '_Weak! Weak, you're a weak little feeler, aren't you!_' '_Stupid little human, messing with her superiors! No one messes with the harvest and lives!_'

Why weren't they coming in? What were they waiting for? Were they trying to keep her pinned up or... or were they already in here, waiting for her to get more and more scared? Were they just playing with her? Her hands were shaking more and more, and she could taste blood in her mouth from where she was biting her lip.

'That's all of us? Apart from Pebbla?"

'Yeah, the human got 'em good. Remember, boss says a duc wants the head, so keep it intact. On the count of three! One, two, three!'

She knew she'd got it right when the first blow against the door triggered a loud crack and a scream, accompanied by the smell of burnt flesh. She grinned viciously, the yelling and cursing from outside the door burning away some of her fear.

Then her grin faded rapidly as she remembered the window. Hesitating only a moment, she spun around and jumped across the room, trusting the seal on the door to hold. The window was small and poky, looking out onto the yard she'd come in through, but it was big enough – just about – for a body to fit through. For a moment, as she crossed the room, she debated crawling out through it and making a run for it. Surely, the monsters wouldn't dare follow her out where they might be seen?

That plan lasted right up until she reached the grimy, smog-smeared glass and saw that the yard was on fire. The debris crackled and spat as the flames licked at it; broken chairs and shattered desks burning merrily. Somewhere in the middle of the bonfire and the column of smoke it was giving off, she could just about make out the shape of a weakly flailing figure.

Oh. Well.

Drat.

From the way the flames were licking languidly over even the concrete and metal, she had a feeling it was burning off the taint of the monsters that had been around them, not just the physical objects themselves. Either way, she didn't feel confident in walking through it – long experience tending the sacred flame had taught her that seeing visions in it didn't make her any more fireproof than anyone else.

On the plus side, there was nobody coming in that way, either.

'Kheee!' 'Kheee!' 'Kheee!'

Behind her, the chanela began making a racket. One by one, their tiny shrieking calls rose up, clamouring. More voices joined the first few, until the din was almost deafening. Rei turned and growled at them, wincing and covering her ears. Why hadn't she shut them up when she'd had the chance?

It wasn't until all of them were clawing at the bars of their cages and shrieking at the top of their tiny lungs that she realised what they were doing. It was the mouths that gave them away, gaping, gasping, as if desperately trying to breathe while drowning. The faint tugs at her own aura were barely strong enough to sense, but sense them she did, in a cold, quenching horror.

It wasn't air they were inhaling. It was energy. And that meant...

She lunged for the door. Towards the ward draw on it, sketchy and improvised, which was barely enough even to keep the monster back when it was at full power. Drained by the hungry mouths of several hundred chanela, it stood no chance. Unless she could...

But she was too late to get there and reinforce it in time. Barely was she halfway across the room when the door exploded inwards, sending the desk clattering across the floor. A muscled orange-red shape filled her vision for a moment before sharp claws dug a deep gash in her arm, and forced a cry of pain from her. Then an impact to her sternum lifted her up and threw her into a wall, and consciousness fled from her entirely.

* * *

...

* * *

She drifted between consciousness and slumber, less than half-aware. It was dark, she was fairly sure. Her eyes wouldn't focus. Her head and arm and stomach hurt. She could hear voices, arguing, somewhere close.

_'... do with her?'_

'...be angry if we don't...'

'Well we can't let her...'

'... now. Here, I'll-'

'No! That's a waste of energy!'

'Then what?'

'Just leave her for the chanela. They'll drain her dry, and we can...'

'... do with the husk once they're done?'

'... take it out into the...'

'... who put you in charge, Iguara?'

'Want to fight about it, or would you rather I...'

'... think this is the...'

'... cares? You two, guard the...'

They didn't make much sense, though.

Something tugged at her from within. An uncomfortable leeching feeling, like the air was being sucked out of her body and however much she breathed, it never gave her lungs the relief they cried out for. Her mind felt violated by warm and fuzzy sensations that thrust themselves upon her unwanted, trying to make her adore the things which were tearing her apart bit by bit. The strength sapped out of her muscles, and a bone-deep weakness and weariness settled over her like a suffocating blanket.

It was almost a relief when she grew too weak to keep herself aware any longer.

* * *

...

* * *

The chanela were in a full-blown feeding frenzy. They screamed and shrieked as they fed, sucking rivulets of life energy from the prone form left limp and lifeless in the middle of their storeroom. Unconscious, she was defenceless against the violation. Her breathing slowed, quiet shallow gasps for air almost unheard under the noise of the monsters. Sweat beaded on her cold, clammy skin and her heartbeat grew fainter and weaker.

But the hunger of the chanela wasn't sated. It could never be sated. More and more they drew, feasting on the banquet that had been laid before them, urged on by the competition from their kin. They consumed all that she had to offer, drinking until her soul was dry.

And yet still they smelt more. It wasn't bubbling within her like that which they had just consumed had been, though. This energy – a treasure trove of it – was different. It felt contained, constrained, sealed away. But so _much _of it! If her life force before had been a banquet, this was more food than they had seen in the entirety of their short lives. Driven on by insatiable hunger, they threw themselves into attaining it.

Rei was at death's door from the draining. Her heartbeat was slow and erratic. Her breathing was barely noticeable, her skin so pale that every vein was visible.

Lying there, she started to convulse, the random spasms of a body gasping for everything, anything which might allow it a few more seconds of life. Her heels beat a staccato rhythm on the ground. Her fingers clawed with their last strength against smooth times, and found no purchase.

There was no mercy from the chanela. They had not the capacity for it, nor the inclination. This was not the first person who had been locked in their room, fed to them by the monsters which wore the shapes of men.

Her heart stopped beating.

And then something inside her snapped. A dam shattered, a levee broke, a wall crumbled.

The last air in her lungs wheezed out in a rattle. And ignited.

The girl, too weak to stand, rose to her feet as if pulled upright by unseen strings. Fire danced and played around her, forming strange shapes which glared with incandescent eyes at the white-furred monsters around them.

A thin howl echoed around the room; the scream of something ancient and hungry. The air became rarefied, bitterly thin and freezing, and the tiling and cage bars near her slumped-over form began to sublimate like rock corroded by a sandstorm.

Rei Hino looked up from the ground, with eyes that were holes into an inferno within. Around her, the chanela burst into flame like petrol-soaked rags thrown onto a bonfire. Their screams added to the unearthly howl that was steadily growing in volume around her.

Dreamlike, her head turned, and the gimlet stare fixed on the door just as it opened. One of the youma left to guard her peered in, its face twisted into a snarl of annoyance.

It was the last mistake it ever made.

A sudden rush of air blew past him into the depressurised space, and encountered an environment in which almost everything was on fire. The bodies of the chanela were burning more fiercely than any natural fuel, fed by the stolen energy of those they had drained. The burst of oxygen met the flames and fanned them, turning the many-coloured conflagration into a fireball. The explosion of flame and superheated gas headed straight back down the only channel it had open to it, and the plume of fire took the guard full in the chest. Its silhouette was visible for an instant; a dark shape engulfed in fire and fury, and then it was gone.

The small window blew out explosively, flames pouring out to meet the guttering embers in the yard. Revived by a sudden flux of potent fuel, they roared into life again, lapping at the walls. Inside, the rush of air had also spread the flames around the room. Now rivulets of fire ran across the walls and tongues of flame lapped at the ceiling. There was nothing left of the bodies of the chanela, but the life force they had stored within them ran hot and furious through the blaze in streaks of colour of every tint imaginable, urging it to consume everything in its path, flammable or not.

At the centre of the developing inferno, the body of Rei Hino stood calmly. There was no will behind her actions; nobody at home behind her burning gaze. Nevertheless, she stood with apparent purpose as her clothes smouldered and charred before falling away entirely. Her skin looked soot-blackened underneath them, and beads of flame dripped from her like sweat. Barefoot, she drifted towards the door. Where she trod, the ground hissed and dissolved, scoured away into dust that tore itself into nothingness. She left a trail of broken footprints behind her, the wood combusting around the holes left in the floorboards.

She ignored the way the fire was spreading upwards and outwards, into the upper storeys and the shop proper. A crashing sound behind her as she left the room announced the support beams in the ceiling giving way, and the conflagration rushed hungrily upwards into the first floor to devour what it found there. Her eyes, however, were on the shape retreating from her down the corridor, into the front of the shop. The second guard.

She seemed to flow as she walked after it, as though she were barely touching the ground that cracked and crumbled beneath her tread. A mantle of fire followed her, tendrils of flame running horizontally along the walls in her wake like greedy fingers. She trailed a hand along the wall as she walked, and the plaster sublimated away at her touch, leaving a deep gouge in the wall that deepened further behind her as the drywall behind it was eaten away. Rust-red dust trickled down from the burning ceiling, the upward convection currents from the firestorm twirling it madly through the air.

The inferno behind her eyes flared as she stepped out into the wide space of the storefront, and every chanela in the cages lit up like fuel-drenched torches as they met her gaze. The sudden, synchronised combustion drew a scream from the fleeing youma. Eyes darting from left to right, it found itself surrounded by a labyrinth of fire. Desperately, with a panic akin to hunger in its violence, it sought an escape.

The vaguely serpentine blue-scaled woman ducked under a rack of falling cages that were wreathed in multi-coloured flames, the metal bars disintegrating even as it tumbled to the floor. Skin ablaze, she screamed and made a diving leap for the window. The burning gaze of the girl swept towards her, but too late; the youma crashed through in her desperate flight. Another rush of oxygen surged in to replenish what had been consumed by the fires and the thinning air that Rei was carrying with her.

The resultant explosion burst every window in the storefront, and the fireball that billowed out from them made the tarmac in front of the store boil and bubble beneath it.

The building was well and truly a lost cause now, with flames eating at its structure both inside and out. Fire alarms were starting to go off in the neighbouring shops, but their ringing was lost on the naked silhouette that emerged from the clouds of smoke that were streaming from the shattered shop façade. Her skin was charcoal-black and her eyes were tiny suns that burned in a placid face. Cinders fell from her hair and left a trail of ash behind her, and the touch of her feet ate away at the pavement, leaving ragged pits and potholes wherever she trod.

The youma lay some twenty yards away, motionless. Knocked out, perhaps, by the force of the blast. Implacable, she advanced on it.

But within a few steps, it was clear that the youma would not be getting back up again, and that it hadn't been the blast that had felled it. Lodged through its eye, pinning it to the street, was a flowering white lily, whose petals opened even as the girl watched. She blinked blearily, her awareness beginning to return as the raging inferno within her receded.

Movement caught her eye, and she looked up into the point of an arrow, drawn and aimed between her eyes. The silver mask behind it was ornately patterned and solid, a curved sheet of metal devoid of any human features.

"Who are you?" it demanded in a cold whisper. "_What _are you?"

Rei – yes, that was her name, she had to remember that – couldn't answer. She couldn't answer anything, because the exhaustion she'd felt dragging her down into death was catching up with her again. It was no longer the cold tug of mortality, merely a bone-deep ache, highlighted here and there by light burns where the flames had licked at her skin but centred mostly in her chest. She felt sore and bruised down to the core, as if something big and strong had kicked her in the chest. Like a horse. Or maybe a train.

"Ungh..." she coughed weakly, tasting blood, and blackness roared up to engulf her.

* * *

...

* * *

Rei Hino woke to the sound of dripping. It was cool and dark, wherever she was, and the air had the slightly claustrophobic taste she associated with 'underground', as well as a sickly-sweet scent she didn't recognise.

There was a dim light source nearby, not so bright as to hurt her blurry vision, but enough to throw a sodium-tinted pallor onto the dank walls of the... tunnel? No, it was a chamber that she lay in, round and surprisingly dry, given the faint sounds of water she could hear from all around. The unfamiliar ceiling was elaborately carved, like it was from some forgotten temple, but there was something disquieting about it that seemed grown rather than built.

Flowers grew from the walls, white lilies that seemed to glow softly in the meagre artificial light they soaked up. They carpeted the floor as well, apart from a circle a few metres across in which she lay. Two tunnels led away into darkness on one far wall, and the floor in front of them was flooded by a large pool, its waters dark and still. It was into there that the water dripping from the ceiling fell, collecting on a jagged spur that jutted a few centimetres out from the rock and falling in fat, heavy droplets.

Rubbing her aching head and trying not to breathe too deeply, Rei slowly sat up and looked around. She had been lying on a plain and somewhat ratty futon on the edge of the circle of flowers, which had a dented camping heater set up next to it, set high enough to turn the cold air into something that was merely 'pleasantly cool'. A rough line of battered cardboard boxes formed a circle along the rest of the edge of the clear space, with the occasional dustbin or old suitcase mingled in with them. Rei gasped when she saw the head-sized object lying on a damp cardboard box, but with a second look she realised it was a metal helmet, inset with strange lenses that sparkled in the dimness.

In the middle of the circle, she saw the lamp that was the only source of light; a wind-up thing that gave off a yellow-orange glare like the streetlamps on the older back roads. It sat on a low table, next to a heavy-looking padlocked box and something oval and black that was covered in faintly glinting geometric lines that reminded her of circuitry.

Behind the table sat a fold-up chair. And on it sat a figure.

The lantern was between her and them, and a carefully draped cloth over the side facing away from her meant that she was the only one illuminated. With the light pointed only in her direction, she could see no more than a rough silhouette and the vaguest of details. The solid, full-face mask she vaguely remembered from before she'd passed out was staring at her, impossible to get a read off. She couldn't even tell how big the figure was, or what gender. The shadows seemed to cling to them, and what the darkness didn't hide, the clothing more than made up for. A dull grey robe swathed them, the mask glinting beneath the hood. It fell open enough at the chest to reveal black-flecked silver scales overlaid layer on layer in a mail-like armoured breastplate. It put Rei in mind of a samurai's armour. A silent, stoic knight.

"I was worried you weren't going to survive, for a while," the figure whispered, raising one silver-armoured finger to where their lips would be. The quiet tones seemed to bounce and echo around the chamber, reflecting off the walls and coming at Rei from all angles. The chaotic web of sounds, along with the tonelessness of the whisper in general, prevented any attempt at analysing it. Young, old, male, female... it was impossible to tell. Which, she thought wryly, was probably the point. She couldn't place the accent, either. There was something about it which was unfamiliar, but the way the stranger spoke sounded too smooth to be anything but a native.

It was probably also meant to be intimidating, but she was rather too annoyed for that to have a hope of working.

"Well, I did," she stated crossly, and immediately winced as her unintentionally loud tones reverberated through the chamber like an auger, crashing around and building themselves into a crazed cacophony of meaningless noise before slowly fading away. It redoubled the pounding in her head, and she cringed, clutching at it gingerly. Apparently there was more than one reason her rescuer was whispering.

"... I did," she continued in a harsh whisper once the echoes had died away completely. "And I'm getting sick of fai- of passing out. Who are you? What happened? And where are we, anyway?" She looked around again, taking in the stone walls damp with condensation and the two dark passages leading off from the chamber from the far wall. "Are we somewhere in the subway system? It looks pretty fancy for that." Her heartbeat sped up as the evil spirit igniting before her eyes flashed through her memory. "The... the demon-spirit-monster... they..."

"Don't worry about them. There weren't any left in the shop once I killed that last one and as for the rest..." The masked figure fell silent briefly. "... they're gone," they concluded in a final sort of way. "And no. This isn't the subway. Well, it is sort of one, but not one you're familiar with. We're a long, long way from anywhere you're familiar with. This is the Whisperquick. A place untouched by silence." The figure shifted slightly, almost awkwardly. "I brought you down here to help you recover, as well as to get you away from prying eyes. You nearly died, going beyond yourself like that."

Rei frowned, puzzled. "Going beyond..." She winced and lowered her voice again. "Look, who _are _you?" She coughed thickly, rubbing her aching chest. A thought struck her and her eyes widened. "Wait, are... are you the Sailor Moon from the papers?" There had been a monster dead when she'd walked out... hadn't there? She didn't remember much. Just... hollowness. Emptiness inside, and heat around her, and a sort of drifting until she came back to herself on the road.

"..." responded the figure. They seemed to fold in on themself a little, and an awkward silence fell as Rei tried and failed to get a read on what they were thinking behind the mask. Eventually, the silver plate shook slowly. "No," came the mournful whisper. "A shadow of the moon, perhaps. A moon eclipsed a long time ago. But not her."

A cold breeze ghosted across the chamber, raising goosebumps on Rei's skin even under the blanket. Which, she abruptly realised, was the only thing she was wearing. She squeaked with surprise, sending another volley of echoes bouncing around the cavern, pulled it tighter around herself and looked up indignantly. "My... I'm naked! Where are my clothes?! Did you..." she lapsed into another round of coughing, hacking up something foul-tasting that she instinctively spat out onto the dark, grimy floor. Then promptly winced at the cacophony of echoes her outburst had produced.

The figure was already shaking its head hastily, waving its hands in denial. "No, no no no no no. That wasn't me. They burnt off you in the fire. I almost shot you, actually; you looked like another youma when you walked out of the smoke. Which... it looks like you breathed in. You're hurt." They hunched in on themselves in the folding chair, pulling their knees up to their chin. Rei could not help but be reminded of a small child huddled up in solitary misery by that movement, though the figure was clearly too old for such a thing.

The chair creaked in protest at the move, old metal caked with rust, and it belatedly occurred to Rei that hardly anything down here looked as though it hadn't come out of a dumpster. Not only that, but the little circle of furniture looked altogether too much like an attempt at a bedroom, despite the fact that it was in an underground chamber somewhere. Did this person _live _down here, in these cold dark echoing tunnels? Had she been kidnapped by some mythical figure who... who was living rough in some kind of mythological subway system?

She opened her mouth to ask, but the figure was already speaking again, their whisper a little more ragged than it had been. "It took me a while to recognise you, you know," they admitted. "You don't look at all like you used to. I mean, I guess I should have expected that, but I hadn't really thought about it. I was expecting you to look just the same, but... you're not. And neither is anyone else."

Rei blinked at this, thrown off kilter by the nugget of information. "You... know me?"

The figure sighed. "Sort of? Not really. I mean, I did, but you won't remember anymore. That life is all gone now." It shifted again, hugged its knees harder. "Everything's gone now. Everything's _wrong_. This age of iron, it's nothing like it should be. I mean, not just like it _should _be, with how everyone's crippled and walking around asleep and how none of the wonders are here, but I think it's not even how _it _ should be." They shook their head viciously, trembling. "I... I need to keep her safe because if she dies it all happens again and I can't let that happen, but she's just a child and... and I don't know enough. There are things that should be happening that aren't, and... and things that shouldn't be happening that are, and I don't know _why _but I'm scared it might be my fault somehow, except some of it _can't _be my fault because... and I was going to ask you about it, but... but you're not awake yet either, are you? That's why you didn't transform."

Now Rei was the one shifting uneasily. She was beginning to get the uncomfortable feeling that she was stuck underground somewhere with no clothes on, with a crazy person babbling at her and with no idea how to get out. And while there were a good number of things she still wanted answers to, she was more than a little wary of asking this stranger who claimed to know her for them. Especially given that they'd almost shot her once already, by their own admission and her own hazy memories of looking down an arrow from the wrong end.

Who even used a bow and arrows in this day and age, anyway?

"L-look," she stammered hoarsely, her teeth chattering slightly. The heater was helping, but now that she was the sitting up and the initial confusion had worn off, she couldn't help but notice that she was really rather cold. She coughed again, several wracking coughs that shook her body and left her mouth tasting vile and her throat feeling sandpapered. The figure was right about the smoke inhalation, if nothing else. She probably needed to see a doctor once she was out of here. "Can I... what do I call you, anyway?"

A half-hearted shrug. "Moonshadow," the figure whispered dully. "It's as good as any other. I'm not who I was anymore, so my old name doesn't matter."

"... right. Moonshadow. I think I'd... like to go home now." She braced herself, just in case the suggestion of parting company set the stranger off somehow. But Moonshadow just sighed and nodded, looking down at the ground.

"Alright. This was... was a bad idea anyway, I think. I just wanted to see you, but you're not you and it's all gone wrong again. It always does." The silver mask turned back up towards her. "Do you want a drink before you go? It should help with the coughing." They fumbled in one of the boxes and produced an assortment of bottles, which Rei eyed dubiously. Not only was she wary of anything that came out of a cardboard box that looked as though it had been dragged through an entire subway system to get here, the bottles were also almost schizophrenic in their variety. She couldn't even recognise the alphabets on half of them, and those she could make out were a dizzying mix from all over the world.

Eventually, when it became clear that she wasn't going to be leaving without accepting at least one, she hesitantly notched the blanket tighter around herself and tentatively chose a soft drink she recognised as being Japanese, on the basis that it probably hadn't gone stale or bad since Moonshadow had obtained it, unlike the ones from different countries. The eerie blank stare from behind the mask bored into her as she cracked the top open and took a few sips, before setting it carefully down again.

"Okay," she forced out with a shaky smile. "Thank you very much for the drink and the, uh... rescue from the fire, I guess. I'd like to... go home now... though..." She yawned, her eyelids suddenly heavy, and blinked rapidly. It was an effort to keep her eyes open, and her thoughts were hazy and muddied. As light slowly dawned on her, she stared accusingly at Moonshadow, words rising to numb lips but failing to make it all the way past them.

"When you see her and you know what I'm talking about," the masked figure said, "you have to make sure she stays alive. You'll know. You always knew."

* * *

...

* * *

"Ahh!"

She came awake suddenly, thrashing sideways on the tiles and scything her head into a folded towel. She froze for a moment as her other senses kicked in. She was warm, lying on tiles, the air was steamy and the ceiling looked...

... familiar. Calming down somewhat, Rei sat up. She was in her bathroom, at home. Alone. The furo was full, steam drifting off the surface, and a quick glance over at the door showed it locked from the inside.

Had it been a dream?

... no. Her hair smelt of smoke, she still had soot caked onto her body, and something of the sickly-sweet scent of the flowers from the chamber still clung to her. Now that she looked, there was one lying on the towel that had been beside her; its white petals looking oddly pale and washed out in the bright light of the room.

She felt better, though. A _lot _better, actually, her headache was gone and her chest barely hurt at all. The minor burns she'd suffered were little more than itchy red patches, as if she'd experienced some very unusual sunburn, and her breathing was more or less normal, if still a little raspy.

Somehow, she doubted that a few sips of a sugary drink had done that.

She sat on the floor for a few minutes, stewing in confusion and annoyance – and no small amount of fear. None of that had made sense. Evil spirits had tried to... to kill her, then something which escaped her memory had happened, and then some half-sane – spirit? God? – well, _person _had talked at her like they knew her. Now she was back in her own bathroom, with no memory of how she'd got here.

Should she talk to her grandfather about it? She really should, but... but it was all so crazy that... that she didn't know what she should do.

Eventually, though, she groaned in frustration and swiped at the air, brushing away the questions and their lack of answers. Whoever – or whatever – the stranger had been, they were gone now. How they'd managed to get her into her own bathroom and then lock the door from the inside – not to mention known where it was in the first place – was a cause for concern, but nothing they'd done had been anything less than benevolent. Creepy, perhaps, but they hadn't come off as a _threat_, except during that initial staring match down the shaft of an arrow.

Well, not a threat to _her_, anyway. She could still remember the monster – the youma, had Moonshadow called it? – lying on the ground with a hole that went clean through its head. But she was too tired to care, at the moment. She was half-asleep, lying here on the floor, with a peculiar calmness suffusing her. She wanted to have a bath, and then go to bed, and then go through the next week or so without anything weird or terrifying happening. Perhaps then she could forget the moment when the evil spirit had caught fire, or those inhuman voices coming through the door, or... or the terrible feeling of being left in that room and slowly eaten from the inside out by the chanelas.

Though she would probably have to go and see exactly what had happened to the pet store. She didn't remember much after she'd been knocked out, but fire was certainly a large part of what she did recall. She hoped nobody had been hurt, aside from the monsters. And when she was feeling better, she was going to go prepare as many defences against wicked spirits as she knew. And then research some more.

Distracted by her thoughts, and exhausted from the trials and stresses of the day, she didn't notice the tiny pieces of ice in the steaming water as they melted away into nothing.

* * *

...


End file.
